Warrior Of Art
by Lorze The Brookes
Summary: A young girl is thrust back in time, and becomes part of the Three Kingdoms. Will she be able to overcome her challenges, and fulfill her destiny? Rated for violence and language. OCLT, some SSXGN. Please review, it's not hard. Guess what - Chapter 25 is up!
1. The Rest of Your Life

**A/N:** I have been working on this story for an unbelievably long time now, but I'm pleased with how it's gone so far. It's all written from the viewpoint of my character, and it begins in the modern era, but it is going somewhere, I promise!

**WARNING:** This story is LONG. Seriously. It's more than 100 pages in my notebook, and still rising (Page count on 18/2/09 - 335). Pairings may be included when I can be bothered to add them (by which point I won't need to because I'll have made them so obvious in the first place...). Sorry for all of the long paragraphs!

**Disclaimer:** The only things I own in this story are the plot and my character, Laura/Su Zhi. Now please sit back and enjoy my story.

Or don't, it's up to you, but don't bother flaming me if you don't like it. You'll only get a sarcastic reply.

* * *

I tugged at my collar irritably. The last day of school before the summer holidays seemed to be dragging on forever, and my uniform was really beginning to bug me. Last lesson was science, but no-one was paying any attention to the work. It wasn't like you could hear the teacher, anyway - the class never shuts up. God only knows how we pass tests around here.

Ah! There's the bell. The room emptied in seconds, until it was just me and my friends, Beth and Steph. We walked out to reception together, chatting about how bad the teacher was getting, and how half the class was failing as a result.

"Laura, you catching the bus today?" asked Beth.

"I can't, I have that Taekwando thing on."

"You always have Taekwando on!" said Steph.

"I know, but it should calm down after this competition. I hope." I added, swinging my bag over my shoulder. Inside were my shoes, belt, suit, and other things I would need for the day. I mean, I wouldn't call myself the best at Taekwando, no way, but I could pull off the moves perfectly, and, hey, I had got this far, hadn't I?

I waved at my friends as they got onto their bus, and set off for the Forum. Ever since I started Taekwando at the age of six - and that was a good ten years ago - I'd been training here, under the guidance of Master Tony. I shifted the bag on my back into a more comfortable position, nodded at the teacher as I went past, counted to ten, and ripped off my tie. What was the point of them? I could only see them being used for two things, and neither of them was socially acceptable.

Chucking it into my bag, I plugged in my earphones and began to listen to my music. It was a thirty minute walk to the Forum through a not so pleasant part of the town, but I could take care of myself.

The walk was actually quite uneventful - I saw someone approach me before recognizing me from an earlier 'encounter' and running away, but that was it. The familiar shape of the Forum was soon within my sights, and I could already see Master Tony's car. In fact, I could see Master Tony inside his car, having a quick smoke before I turned up. As soon as he saw me shuffling along under the weight of my various bags, he got out of the car and flung his cigarette to the ground, grinding it with his heel before locking his car and turning to me.

"The things are already set up inside, so we can get started as soon as you're ready." he said as he walked inside with me. I nodded, and went to the toilets to get changed into my suit.

I was careful to pack my school uniform so it didn't crease - it was the one thing my Mother was hot on about my choice of sport - and emerged from the cubicle after five minutes to fix my hair. It was quite long, and cut in a style that obscured part of my face. While I appreciated the air of mystery it created, I didn't want it distracting me while I trained.

Picking up my bags, I glanced at my reflection in the mirror again. My long, chestnut brown hair was securely tied back, my hazel eyes seemed to sparkle under the harsh light, my suit was on properly, and my belt tied correctly. I was good to go.

I went into the room we used for training, and dumped my bags just inside the door. Master Tony was leaning against the wall, reading a piece of paper and pulling faces at the content. He looked up as my bags thudded to the floor, launched himself off the wall, and walked over to me.

"Just got the new rules. Bottom line - you've been moved up a category."

"Well, that's not so bad, is it?"

"It is when you now have to fight Andrew Patsy first."

I went pale. Andy was a big lad - he had a punch even an elephant could respect, and had only joined a Taekwando club so he could fight back harder when bullies mocked his name. Fight him_ first_? I was dead meat. I would be lucky to leave on my feet through the door - I had no doubt he could put me through the wall if he set his mind to it.

Tony noticed my expression.

"At least we can try and get you prepared. I think we should concentrate on blocking and dodging."

I nodded, still very much preoccupied by the prospect of being flattened by Andy before I'd even got started. We spent the next hour or so practicing blocks, diving onto the mats, and going over the rules. According to Master Tony, all the others were easy - although, if I could beat Andy, it was a safe bet to say I could beat anyone. I didn't really need to practice my attacks so much - I could kick a tall man in the head with ease, and my punches and other strikes were more or less perfect, allowing for my tendency to forget about my other hand when it returned to my belt.

At the end of the session, I helped Tony pack away the pads and mats, before picking up my own bags and following him to his car, still in my Taekwando suit.

"I can't give you a lift home tonight, I've got a meeting, but then I'm going to see if I can't get you put back into the other category again."

" Ok. It's not too dark, I should be fine. And thanks for all the help."

"No problem. You've got a real talent there; I'm just glad I could help."

I smiled, waving him off in the car, before picking up my bags again and walking off. I had to walk directly through the worst part of town to get home from here. I was slightly nervous, to say the least.

Before I got to the really bad area, I checked that my school bag was on properly, my personal items out of reach of any pickpockets, and that I was ready for any attacks. All that done, I set off, senses almost painfully alert. The people around here wouldn't mug you for your money - although it was a nice bonus - they'd hit you because it was fun. My mother had strictly told me to go around this area, but it was getting late and I needed to consider writing my will before the competition. Besides, it wasn't exactly as if I was defenseless.

I was right in the very centre of this urban living hell when it happened. Maybe I heard footsteps, maybe a shadow was just a bit too dark, but I ducked just as a sturdy plank of wood went flying past where my head was, before smashing into the brick wall on the other side of the alley and splintering. I span around, bringing my leg up for an axe kick, but as I saw my attacker, I quickly had to change it to a side kick. This guy was built along the lines of a ten foot troll - I had a nasty feeling he was more intelligent than he looked as well. It wouldn't have been hard for him.

He looked to be the only attacker, but I knew the shadows were full of eyes. The man quite easily caught my leg and forced it on upwards. I fell on my back, but had the sense to roll as the splintered and jagged piece of wood came slicing down again. I scrambled to my feet, ready to take him down with a jumping front kick...

...Time seemed to slow, my movements were like a slug through custard...

Someone was behind the other man. He looked completely out of place in this part of town - in fact, he looked like someone caught in an obscure time loop. His hat was like an upside down lampshade, and he wore long, white robes. He also had a blue tattoo on his face, covering the right side, as well as the strangest mustache and beard combination that I had ever seen. He nodded at me, only once, pointed behind me, and vanished.

...Time flooded back, and my knee came up as I began to kick, but from behind me came a fist that slammed into the side of my head and knocked me off my feet. I rolled to a stop next to the alley wall, hardly able to move, as the man and his accomplice - not quite built to the same scale as the first but still large - started to rummage through my dropped bags.

I could only watch through the white explosions as they straightened up, muttering something, before one came over and kicked me in the head, hard. Through the rushing darkness, I felt my head slam into the wall behind me, and I slumped back into the gutter, senses dead to the world.

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

I awoke very slowly, my scattered thoughts seeming to come from a long way away. I lay where I was, waiting for the world to make sense again. I still seemed to have two arms and legs, and - I checked - yes, I could still move them. The presence of the top of my head was debatable, but I was still intact otherwise.

Well, that was one worry off my mind. Now for the increasingly more urgent ones.

I opened my eyes cautiously. I wasn't dead, but around this area of town, that wasn't necessarily a good thing. As soon as my eyes opened, they closed instinctively against the light, but I had seen enough to make me wonder how hard I had hit my head last night, if it wasn't longer. What I had seen wasn't my town. I doubted it was even in England. It looked more Far East, and in some undeniable way ... old, but old before it aged. In the past.

I chanced opening my eyes again, and what I saw confirmed it. There were no cars, or any of the other things which I had come to associate with civilization. There were no roads, or, at that, people, at all. I levered myself up onto my elbows quite easily - that in itself was amazing, as I had taken quite a beating, and was expecting a severe headache at the least - and stared around me.

I was in a cave entrance, next to the remains of a fire, and with several canvas bags scattered around. I cautiously explored one, and found nothing more menacing than some water and several meat buns. The others simply contained survival equipment, such as flints for starting a fire. Well, however it was that I'd managed to get here, at least I was being given a fighting chance.

I pulled myself to my feet, happening to glance down as I was doing so. My shapeless and stiff Taekwando suit had been changed for short, white trousers, ending just below my knees, and a creamy coloured top with sleeves that ended at my elbows. They were both quite snugly fitted, but still giving me a full range of movement. Beside my sandaled feet was a stout length of wood. I picked it up, glancing around me at the same time. I wasn't sure where - or when - I was, but I was suddenly comforted by the knowledge that, maybe, someone was watching over me.

Of course, added my brain, that isn't always a good thing - it certainly wouldn't have been in the area I was attacked in, at any rate. Just to be on the safe side, I said "Thank you." out loud.

_"You are quite welcome, Su Zhi."_

I whipped around in the direction of the voice.

"Wh - who's there?" I quavered, gripping the stick and dropping into a defensive stance. "And how do you know my..."

I trailed off. It was my name, but at the same time, it wasn't. I was Su Zhi, and Laura, but Laura was one person, and Su Zhi was another, and I was _both_... I wondered if this was how a schizophrenic felt all the time.

"Yes, you are both. However, this is a new chance for you, as Su Zhi. Do not forget what you learned from Laura, but let Su Zhi take control."

"What are you talking about? Who are you? And what was wrong with my old life as Laura?"

A figure stepped out of the shadows in the back of the cave. He had an odd hat, somewhat like an upside down lampshade, and a blue tattoo on the right side of his face...

"You? From the fight?"

"Yes. My name is Zuo Ci, and I ensure that things happen as they should. Your life as Laura served to teach you several lessons you will need in this life as Su Zhi. You have all you need from it."

I hesitated, as a new thought was forming that I didn't like the look of.

"You're telling me that it's your fault I'm here? That those bastards knocked me out? Were you trying to get me killed? Or am I already dead, and this is just some sort of sick game?"

The old man was silent for what felt like an age. When he spoke again, it was in the quiet tone of someone delivering unwanted news.

"I was indeed the one who brought you here, but I am not responsible for those men attacking you. I, myself, prefer to use less violent means of persuasion. And no, you are not dead, just as you have not been dead as Su Zhi for the past sixteen years. I believe that you, as Laura, suffered from nothing worse than a fractured skull and some internal bleeding - certainly nothing that the science of your old world can't cure.

"And as for the rest of your questions, you are in China, near the province of Jiang Xia. The area is ruled by Huang Zu, who has made an enemy of the Wu faction by killing the current ruler's father. Wu is one of three major factions - the other two are Shu and Wei. The year is early 208 AD."

I blinked. I blinked again. My mind was a total blank. Then my senses came rushing back.

"Are you telling me that I've been transported through time and space to Ancient China as it was, what, 1800 years ago? And that the whole purpose of my life up till now has been to learn to survive during that time? What part of this is supposed to make sense? And why does it have to be me?"

"I can tell you no more. In time, you may learn and understand. You shall only see me once more, and then I shall give you a choice. Good luck, Su Zhi."

As soon as the words left his mouth, I heard a shout from outside. Five or so soldiers, dressed in purple, were approaching my cave with some caution. I looked down at the length of wood in my hand as if seeing it for the first time, and threw it aside. These soldiers appeared to be armed, but it would be nothing I couldn't handle with just my feet and fists.

It didn't take long for them to spot me - white against brown isn't the best of camouflage - and I backed away slightly as they approached. Just because you can kill a man with ease doesn't mean you don't get nervous when he starts poking blades at you.

The person who appeared to be the leader sauntered over, his hand on his sword hilt.

"And who are you, then? A spy from Wu?" he sneered.

"What? No!" I replied, shocked by the sheer arrogance of the man.

"Ha! A likely story. You won't mind if we have a look through your bags there, then?"

"I would, actually! Who do you think you are, ordering me about?" I demanded, my fists balling as my already frayed temper flared.

The man's sneer dropped into an unpleasant scowl.

"Lads? Let's check her out." he snarled at the soldiers behind him. I dropped into a defensive stance for the second time in five minutes, eyeing them all to see who would make the first move.

Eventually, one of the soldiers snorted, and tried to attack me with his pike. I easily dodged under his first attack, brought my leg around in a swipe that toppled him, picked up the previously discarded stick, and used it to block an overhead attack by another soldier, before using the end to hit him in the groin. The first soldier was trying to get up again, but I swiftly kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

When I looked up from that, a third soldier was trying to rush me. I sighed, and caught him in a 360 turning kick to the head.

In all this time, the leader hadn't moved. I was in the cave entrance by this point, and only the leader and two soldiers remained upright. I brought my hand up to move a piece of hair from my face, and one of the soldiers, sensing that this was his chance, rushed me, pike raised. I dropped my hand, forced his pike aside with my other fist, and brought my foot into play -

- And froze at the feel of cold steel on the back of my neck.

* * *

**A/N:** In case you're wondering what I meant with the tie, I was thinking of gagging/tying someone up, or garroting them with it. See? Also, sorry if you didn't understand any of the whole Taekwando bit, you have to do it to get some things.

**A/N2: **Yeah, just some basic changes to help the story flow better, and keep Su in character based on the later chapters.


	2. Baptism by Firelight

**A/N:**In light of the fantabulous reviews from DaiSeyensay, Wolfen, Sabrina, kyanrato, shyangel06, Beautihul Miko and JeeJayMay and the story alert from NotAnOrdinaryGirl624, I've decided to post the next chapter. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, and also for mild swearing.

**Disclaimer: ** Yes. Of _course_ I own the Koei thingamabob. I also have a private plane and am typing this via a secretary. (/sarcasm)

* * *

I carefully and slowly lowered my foot and let go of the pike, raising my hands to show I was beaten.

"One chick beating four soldiers, that's one to tell the lads," came a voice from behind me. It was full of arrogance and male bravado, but not in the way of the leader. He had been an arrogant self-righteous bastard, but this one seemed quite happy-go-lucky.

"You, round up the rest of them and head back to the camp. I'll stay and have a chat with this little lady here." my captor ordered. The leader of the soldiers nodded sullenly, and within 10 minutes, we were alone.

The blade left the back of my neck.

"Who taught you to fight?"

I gaped at the air in front of me in a passable impression of a goldfish before replying.

"You - you're not annoyed I attacked your soldiers?"

"Them? They couldn't beat a straw dummy tied to a stick. And that major'll do good out of being taken down a peg or two. Nah, I'm not annoyed. Impressed, maybe, but not annoyed."

My captor walked in front of me. He was topless, but his torso was well-muscled and covered in intricate tattoos. He wore bells on a string around his neck, baggy trousers, and a strip of cloth with a feather in the back around his head to keep his spiked up, dark hair in place. He was also holding a rather large and evil-looking sword - most probably the one he had used to stop me in my tracks.

"What's your name?" he asked me.

"Su Zhi. Who are you?"

The man gave a chuckle.

"You're not from around here, are you? I'm the great pirate Gan Ning of the bells."

"You're modest, as well," I muttered, not quite under my breath. Gan Ning just laughed again.

"You've got some brains, I'll give you that. Sure you aren't a Wu officer? Sort of thing they'd do." he said, while putting his sword away.

"How do you know I'm not going to attack you?" I asked him, amazed at his actions.

"Are you going to?" he answered back, without looking up.

"Well, no, but-"

"There you go then." He turned away and stretched. "Besides, if you tried, I'd just break your arm. Now, the way I see it, you've got two options." he continued, ignoring my slightly indignant expression. "You can be brought in as a prisoner, or you can be brought in as a fellow officer, and somehow, I don't think you'll pick the first choice."

I blinked in confusion. This was the exact opposite of what I had been expecting.

"Why are you being so - so nice?"

Ning half turned so that I could see his face.

"'Cause you fight well, you're intelligent, you look completely lost around here, and, I'll admit, you're pretty hot. Whadda you say?"

I raised my eyebrow at the last part, but then shrugged.

"You're right about me being lost. I got booted out of my home two years ago for wanting to be a warrior rather than a housewife, and I've been pretty much wandering around the countryside since. No-one wants to know about me these days, and the bandits are a royal pain in the neck. Why not be an officer? It'll be a walk in the park compared to my old village."

We set off in the vague direction the soldiers had vanished off in, Ning leading the way. I didn't really know where my 'history' had come from - it was just there, without me actually living any of it. There was another strange thing as well - I had only known this man I was now walking with for five minutes, but I already felt completely at ease with him.

"I'd better warn you now, "said Ning as we walked. "There's some rumours going 'round that Wu are coming to kill Huang Zu for killing Sun Jian - at any rate, it's not for being more intelligent than them. I'd join 'em if I could, but gotta stand by my master."

He sighed wistfully. I stayed quiet, watching my feet. Ning glanced at me.

"What's wrong with you? Cat got your tongue?"

I hesitated. A million and one things were running through my head - where could I even begin to answer that question? I quickly settled on a question that was innocent enough.

"Have you ever heard of Zuo Ci?"

"...Yeah. Apparently he's a hermit Taoist who tells people their fortunes and does magic. Why all the interest?"

"Just wondering."

I sighed.

"Sorry about this, I'm normally quite sociable. I've just got a lot to think about."

"Hey, that's okay."

We walked the rest of the way in silence. As we approached the main camp, Ning spoke to me again.

"I'll take you to see Huang Zu. Try not to be too openly patronizing."

I nodded. We soon reached the most ornately decorated building, and I followed Ning inside. He nodded at the guards as he went past, and went straight into the main room. Seated at the head of the room was a man with a fussy mustache and beady eyes, who was looking bored.

"Oh. It's you." he said glumly, as Ning entered. "Who's that?"

Ning bowed and introduced me.

"This is Su Zhi. We found her fighting and persuaded her to join us."

"I don't see a weapon..."

"She doesn't need one. She uses her hands and feet."

"Oh. Martial arts. Is she any good?"

"One of the best fighters I've seen in a long time. She could be helpful for when - if - Wu attack."

"Fine. But I'm placing her under your responsibility."

We bowed, and left the tent.

"And what a breath of fresh air he was," I muttered.

"Heh, he's just bored. Hasn't been a decent scrap in ages. Everyone's gettin' edgy."

"How far away are Wu supposed to be?"

Ning shrugged.

"About four, five days last we heard. Anyway, I've got a few fighting tips for you. First - can you kill someone?"

"...I know about seven different ways to, and if I have a staff, all the better, but I haven't actually _killed_ anyone before..."

"Well, I'm not gonna lie to you - the first's the worst. After about 20, you don't even notice anymore. And if you still get the jitters, just think of this - the other guy's doing his best to get you before you get him. It's them, or you."

I considered it from this new angle.

"...Put that way, I don't have much choice. It's only self defense. I can't help it if they die because I was defending myself."

"That's the spirit! Now, show me your moves."

We had just reached a clearing between the buildings, so I launched into a volley of my best moves, pulling off near perfect butterfly kicks, back kicks, 360 turning jump kicks - you name it. Ning watched with a calculating eye, giving the occasional suggestion to help me improve, before eventually calling a halt.

"Well, I stand by what I said earlier - you're one of the best fighters I've seen in years. I don't know many people can pull off _half _the stuff you're doing. But come on, it's getting late. I still need to sort out where you're sleeping. And I expect you're getting hungry. I know _I_ am."

As if on cue, my stomach rumbled. I hadn't had anything to eat since I was Laura, but I had been so busy I hadn't noticed.

As we walked through the forest of buildings, it hit me what I liked so much about Ning. He was just so carefree and open. If he wanted to say something, he would. But even though he seemed so transparent, I knew that he wasn't the slightest bit shallow. It was kind of strange - I hadn't even known him 24 hours, but I felt like I knew more about him than I did some of my friends as Laura.

We soon arrived at the Mess Hall. Only a few people were inside, mostly wearing the armour I had seen around the camp. There were a few other people, too - civilians, I realized - who were cleaning, cooking, and generally helping out.

"I'll grab a bite to eat, then I'll be off to sort out the fine detail about you joining us." said Ning, glancing absently around the room.

"Thanks. For everything." I said, turning to him. "You didn't need to."

Ning shrugged.

"You've got some talent." he said, as way of reason. I followed him across the room to the table the food was set out on, and stared. I couldn't even recognize half of it, but if looks - and smells - were anything to go by, it was all delicious. I chose something that looked like a chicken leg, and a pork bun, and sat at a nearby table, waiting for Ning to join me. We ate in silence, then Ning stood up and dusted himself off.

"I'll be off now. You be alright here?"

"Sure. I can take care of myself."

"I know." Ning said with a smile. He left, and I carried on eating for a few minutes.

"So, you're _joining_ us now? Psh, Huang Zu's really letting the standards slip with _you_."

I hesitated, before calmly placing the bone from my chicken leg on the table and swallowing my mouthful. When I turned, it was only to see a smirking man, standing insolently at the head of a small crowd of privates.

"You're the major from earlier, aren't you? After a proper fight this time?"

The man hesitated, obviously not expecting this reaction.

"Alright. But not here."

"No. Outside, the clearing by the woods."

I stood, and left the building ahead of the major. I hadn't thought this through, I knew, but this had to be sorted now. I just didn't know how much of a beating he would take before backing down. I reached the arranged space near the woods, where I had trained only half an hour earlier with Ning, and turned. It was a minute or so before the arrogant sod appeared, which only deepened my contempt over him for having underestimated me. A larger crowd followed him into the clearing, and fanned out, eager for a fight.

"Come on, let's get this over with already." I said, launching myself from the tree I had been leaning against. He drew his sword almost hesitantly.

"Give me your best shot." I said, gesturing him to come and get me before dropping into a defensive stance. Amazingly, he didn't waste any time with the whole, 'My sword's bigger than yours' male bravado, but came straight at me, sword raised. I rolled my eyes, straightened up, and ducked and twisted to the side, pushing him off balance with my foot as I straightened up again. He stumbled, nearly dropping his sword, but righted himself and turned back to me.

He circled me for what seemed like an age before running at me again. I used an inner palm block to deflect the sword, but he used his leg to trip me. I tumbled to the ground, but quickly scrambled upright again, just in time to deflect another strike.

It was only at that point a thought struck me. As the newby, I would probably be blamed for any injuries that occurred because of the fight. That Huang Zu looked like he would be much more inclined to listen to the word of his trusted officer than some new troublemaker. I would have to tread very carefully in this particular fight.

I pivoted on one foot for a reverse turning kick, and as I turned, I saw Ning running in our general direction. However, I couldn't pay him any attention, because my attack had been dodged, and my opponent was now lining himself up for yet another assault on me. I gave an inward sigh. With Ning back, I should probably try and wrap this up quickly. The major came in for another blow, but I blocked it, pushing him off balance before spinning and trapping his arm and head. With my hand in his jugular, and my other immobilizing his sword arm, the fight was now effectively over.

The major attempted to struggle out of my grip, but he soon abandoned that thought - if he tried too hard, he would probably dislocate his shoulder. I leaned down and hissed into his ear.

"Try that again, and I won't be so nice to you."

"Alright, people, show's over, nothin' to see - let him go, Su - move along, people..."

I let my captive go, and looked up to see Ning shoo off the rest of the spectators. That done, he walked over to me, and stood with one hand on his hip, the other rubbing his forehead.

"Now _that_," he said, dropping both hands,"was what I call fighting! Why didn't you show me any of that earlier?"

I shrugged.

"There wasn't any real need to."

Ning glanced at the major, who was now sulking and nursing his arm.

"Huang Zu's gonna want to know about this, so you'd better tell me what happened." he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

I shrugged again.

"He wanted a rematch. I gave him one."

"Zu's not gonna accept that."

"...If you want an excuse, I suppose he insulted me first."

"Oh? What with?"

"Something about Zu letting his standards slip by letting me join."

Ning turned to the major.

"That true?" he demanded. The major nodded reluctantly. "And is he letting his standards slip?" A reluctant shake of the head. "Right. Don't make Su remind you again." He turned to me again.

"Come on, I've got to show you where you're staying."

"Okay. I suppose it is getting kinda late."

We wandered away from the major and the buildings, in the direction of a tent village.

"You're in the tent next to mine." he said, before laughing ruefully. "Shows what he thinks of me when he makes me sleep out here with the soldiers. As long as I'm branded a pirate, I can't be trusted to sleep with a proper roof over my head. Still, with any luck, this battle with Wu should clear things up. You know, Zu's thinking of letting Cai Mao lead part of the army when it happens."

"Who's Cai Mao?" I asked, not mentioning that part of the reason he was so branded as a pirate was the way he introduced himself as such all the time.

"That major you were fighting. He's got some good ideas concerning the lake over here, but he's a tricky little git when he wants to be."

"I already knew that part."

Ning chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess you do. Here's your tent, by the way." he said, gesturing to a tent that looked identical to all the ones we had passed to reach it. "You want anything, I'm in that one next to yours."

I nodded, noticing that Ning's tent wasn't any bigger than the rest of them.

"Ok. Night, then."

"Night."

I walked into my tent. The several bags of food and other essentials were already sat in the corner. If I hadn't suddenly been struck with a wave of fatigue, I would have perhaps wondered how that had happened, as no-one had picked them up from the cave, but as it was, I just went straight for the bed, and was asleep seconds later.

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

It felt like I had just drifted off when I was roughly shaken awake.

"Wassat?"

"Wu's attacking! Come on, you're with me!"

I dragged myself out of my bed, and stumbled out of the tent after Ning, into the dark and cold night. In the distance, I could already hear screams of the wounded, and the clash of swords.

"When did they get here?" I asked, slightly out of breath but rejuvenated by the cold night air.

"About half an hour ago. They were creeping about in the dark for a while before we found them."

We were passing a pile of broken weapons at the time which were illuminated by a nearby torch, and, glancing at them, I had an idea.

"Hang on," I called after Ning. He waited for me somewhat impatiently, until I ran up to him again, now with a couple of spearheads and a length of wood with a crude rope strap holding it on my back. I was holding the spearheads like a couple of short swords. Ning nodded approvingly in the torchlight.

"Good idea. Now let's get down there before the fun part's over."

I nodded, checked the spear handle was in place, and followed him down a hill toward the battlefield. We came across a small platoon of soldiers and archers about halfway down, and Ning stopped.

"What's goin' on down there?" he demanded.

"They're nearly in our dock, sir! Cai Mao is struggling!" reported the head archer. Ning, who had been scanning the torchlit scene in front of us, swore under his breath. I gripped my weapons tighter, a knot of apprehension in my stomach. Fighting in a competition was one thing, but trying to kill someone who was doing their best to return the favour was something else altogether, and the battle in front of us was absolutely heaving.

Ning made a little click in the back of his throat.

"I see an enemy general. Gimme that bow!"

The archer next to him did so wordlessly, also handing over his quiver of arrows. Ning flicked one out, and sighted on the general in one smooth move. As he aimed, I let my gaze wander in the darkness. Another general was fighting a short distance away. He was going through our soldiers like a hot knife through butter with what looked like nunchucks mixed with lots of high kicks.

The soldier around him fell away. He glanced up directly at me, just as Ning grunted and let the arrow go.

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**A/N:** Wow, that was a pain and a half to type up. Hope you enjoyed it, and please review.


	3. Determination

**A/N:** Thanks to kyanrato, shyangel06, zuo Ci, Beautihul Miko, Kunnaki, and Captain Kurt Hoffman for various comments, favourites and alerts. You guys rock my socks big time!

**Disclaimer:** If you haven't got the idea by now, chew on this: I only own my OC (Su Zhi), the plot, and the notebook I write this story up in. Happy?

* * *

I tore my eyes off this second general to the first, just as the arrow hit him squarely in the chest. I watched, slightly nauseated, as he froze, looked down at the feathers bristling from his chest, looked up at the second general, then finally collapsed to the ground.

"Okay, let's get down there." said Ning, calmly handing the bow and quiver back to the archer and drawing his own sword again. I tried to swallow my nausea, before turning to follow him.

He must have somehow seen the expression on my face in the darkness, because he said, "You okay?"

"...It's a bit of a shock. I haven't seen anyone die before now. But I'll cope."

Ning nodded.

"Good. Remember - it's just like self-defense. Now come on, we need to break through to help Mao, much as I hate the guy, then we can go for Sun Quan."

I nodded, and followed him onto the main battlefield. Almost immediately, the screams of the wounded and the stench of death threatened to overwhelm me, but I simply didn't have the time to pay it any attention, as a group of soldiers had seen us arrive, and were charging us. I reacted immediately, aiming a kick at one, before somersaulting back away from a wild swing from another.

Landing lightly on my feet, I launched myself at a soldier wielding a spear. Shoving his weapon aside, I kicked him under the chin before lunging forward in an upper spear-fingers jab. My improvised blade passed through his jugular quite easily, and as I withdrew the bloody metal, he dropped his spear, clutching at his throat and gagging as his knees gave way.

I simply couldn't afford to pay too much attention to the dying man, but it seemed to be all that I could think of as I blocked the frantic attacks of the soldier I was now facing. I didn't know how anyone could stand knowing that they had taken someone's life without a second thought - I just really hoped that Ning was right when he said it got easier. I didn't want this terrible feeling of guilt after every kill.

A wild swing from my opponent nicked my arm, bringing me crashing back to reality. I gritted my teeth, and forced him into a weapon deadlock. Now he wasn't wildly attacking me, I could time my counter so that it did the most damage. By the faint moonlight, I saw the soldier take a minuscule step back, and I immediately shoved him over with all my strength. As he sprawled on the ground, I swiftly booted him in the head, leaving him unconscious.

I straightened up into a defensive stance, and glanced around me in the barely lit battlefield, scooping my hair out of my eyes at the same time. The area around me was clear of any immediate threat, so I took the time to try and work out what to do next. In the distance, I could just see Ning put on a quick burst of speed and incapacitate several of the enemy. For a big guy, he really was surprisingly fast.

I shifted my weight, and took a step towards a nearby knot of soldiers, just as a pair of nunchucks went flying past where my head was a second ago. I whipped around to see the skinny general from earlier bearing down on me, with an expression of extreme anger and hatred on his face. It was all I could do to block his furious attacks. In between strikes, he hissed, "_You - killed - my - father!_"

There was no hope of me getting an attack of my own in against him, so I simply did the best I could to defend myself. However, the darkness of a sudden cloud blocking out the moonlight was making it harder, and my best just wasn't enough, because he soon managed to sneak a blow in past my guard, swiftly smacking me in the stomach. The blow winded me, forcing me to drop my guard and receive the full force of his fury as I crumpled. I was absolutely terrified as the blows continued to rain down on my head, back, arms and legs- I had no doubt that he could kill me with ease if he wanted to.

After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only about 5 seconds, the blows abruptly stopped. I didn't dare uncurl from my protective ball in case they suddenly resumed, but lay and listened to the sound of grunts and fighting above me. Just when I was wondering if it was safe to move, someone cried out from a few feet away, and I heard footsteps running away into the distance. Then, another set of footsteps came towards me, and I curled tighter, waiting for the blows of the nunchucks to start again -

Instead, a friendly hand was laid on my shoulder.

"Hey! Hey, Su, it's just me. Are you okay?"

I slowly uncurled at the sound of Ning's voice. I ached all over, but I was almost certain that he somehow hadn't broken any bones. Ning helped me to my feet, but my winces didn't go unnoticed in the slight torchlight.

"You should probably get back to the camp."

"No way. I can still walk, can't I?" I replied, taking a tentative step forward.

"Heh, well I can't say you aren't game, can I?" Ning said, helping me. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

I nodded, face pale. I was still in a considerable amount of pain, but there was absolutely no way I was going to sit out my first battle for something so - so trivial.

"How's Mao doing?" I asked, as I glanced at the next knot of soldiers.

"Oh, shit, yeah - " Ning paused as he scanned the entrance to the docks, "I don't think he's in too much trouble now. I'll go his way, you head to their main camp. If you get into any trouble -"

"I'll withdraw, don't worry."

Ning nodded, before running off in the direction of the docks. I turned to the valley which would deliver me into Wu's main camp, shifted my hold on my weapons, and set off. The aches were beginning to fade by the time I reached my first soldier. He looked terrified, but I was in no mood to stall, so I just elbowed him in the temple, knocking him out. I rather wanted to get this battle over with before the aches returned with a vengeance.

I turned a corner, and nearly ran into a group of 10 or so soldiers who were hiding in the shadows. I sighed as they began to fan out around me, redoubled my grip on my weapons, and ran at them. The first quickly went down to my blade, as did the second. The third caught my blade in his stomach, and the fourth and fifth were soon down as I kicked them both in the temple with a reverse turning kick.

The rest of them backed away and began circling me. I tucked my spearheads into my belt, and retrieved the spear-handle from my back in one swift movement. All the commotion had attracted other soldiers, who began circling me as well, until there was a crowd of about 20 or so people around me.

I made an irritated noise in the back of my throat. I couldn't take on 20 people, not without anyone to back me up. It would be suicide. Andy Patsy was a walk in the park compared to that. So I did something that I had never done before. I raised the length of wood above my head, twirling it as fast as I could, before plunging one end into the ground. It was backed by borrowed strength from my fears, anger, pain and worries, yet I was still surprised when a large shock-wave radiated out from the point of impact. The men surrounding me were knocked off their feet - I think some of them were killed instantly - but I ran onward before any of them could recover.

I passed out of the little bottleneck pass and into a large, open and empty area, and I checked behind to make sure nobody had followed me, before allowing myself to relax slightly. Glancing down at my clothes in the dim moonlight, I could just make out the original creamy white colour through the thick blood spatters. I could only hope none of it was mine as, once again, I was forcibly reminded of the horrors of the battlefield. I shuddered at the feel of the memories, but forced myself to sling my spear handle over my shoulder, pull out my spearheads once more, and carry on towards the Wu main camp.

As I crept along, out of the westerly entrance to the open area I was in, I began to idly consider my weapons. I would have to do something about them. Shoving sharp instruments into your belt repeatedly was a surefire way of ending up with your trousers around your ankles, and I wasn't ready to bear my underwear to anybody yet.

I shook my head lightly in an attempt to rid myself of the mental images before they made me laugh. It was strange - I was heading deeper and deeper into the enemy territory, I hadn't seen anyone else for some time now, and the stench of the battlefield made me feel nauseous, but I could still giggle at the thought of me flashing at the Wu soldiers. It was probably because I was trying to distract myself -

"Ah!"

I gasped in pain as an arrow grazed my shoulder. Spinning around, I was just in time to dodge another arrow that was speeding toward me, but I knew I was in trouble. The archers must have been hiding under the dense shadow of a large tree about 100 yards away - impossible to make out on this dark night. I turned to run out of their range, but was halted by the large group of soldiers that was suddenly blocking my escape, a general at their head.

I gave an exasperated sigh - I was seriously outnumbered. I didn't think anyone could really survive an attack of 36 to one, especially when they were utterly surrounded and in pain, as I was. But I was determined to go down fighting. The only serious worry for me was the archers, who were still aiming at me from their cover of darkness.

Of course, I shouldn't underestimate the general I was facing... or the rest of the soldiers... or the fact that, even though I wasn't sure where my limit was, I was pretty certain that I was being pushed closer and closer to it...

Still, nothing to worry about.

I launched myself at the general. He blocked my axe kick with his spear shaft, before quickly swiping at me. It was all I could do to dodge out of the way.

"Heh, you're faster than you look," I said, dropping back and panting slightly. My grazed shoulder was really stinging now, but I did my best to ignore it, and to make sure the archers didn't get an easy target.

The general didn't reply, but I was too busy trying to work out my next move to care much. My spear heads would be useless against his weapon, but I stood a chance with the spear-handle. Mixed with my moves, I could get all of the surrounding soldiers and the general in one, even if the damage was less, so I quickly dropped the makeshift daggers - I could always pick them up later - and reached for my spear handle again. Holding the weapon behind me, I forced him back with a series of_ bandals_, moving forward all the time, and finishing with a perfect turning side kick. By some minor miracle, it caught him in his side, but he still didn't drop his guard.

He continued to block the rest of my furious volley, even though he was being forced slowly back. I knew what he was trying to do - if he wore me out, the fight was his. I couldn't stop though - the instant I did, he'd get in an attack of his own, and then I was a goner, too. I was fighting a losing battle either way, and we both knew it.

After around 5 minutes of this, I gritted my teeth, ducked beneath his spear before he could react, and swiftly kneed him between the legs. He collapsed instantly, looking rather cross-eyed and going a strange colour as I straightened up. A sense of relief spread through me as some of the surrounding soldiers winced sympathetically, and reigned for about a second before an arrow hit me square in the back of my arm, just above the elbow. I cried out, dropping my weapon, grabbing my arm and looking around desperately for an escape route, but there wasn't one.

Tears of pain and frustration began to trickle down my face. Beaten in my first battle? What would Ning say if he could see me now?

"Move away from your weapons." came a voice from behind me. The general had recovered sufficiently to talk, if a little more high-pitched than usual. I reluctantly did as I was told, stepping away from the broken spearheads and handle without letting go of my arm. I was sure that the point of the arrowhead was pressing against the bone - even the tiniest movement made my eyes water more from an intense surge of pain.

"You are now a prisoner of Wu. You will be taken to our main camp under armed guard, and your fate will be decided there. I advise going quietly."

A soldier moved forward with a length of rope. My arms were tied in front of me, and I tried not to whimper as the arrow in my arm was jostled. I was then led in the direction I had been heading this whole time. I should have tried to have been captured earlier, I thought distractedly, it would have saved me so much hassle _and_ the ordeal of having to deal with this _agonising pain_ from those damned archers... but would I have been able to escape when I reached their main camp? That was the question. Right now, the answer to that was a definite _no_.

I bit back a small yelp of pain as the arrow was jostled again. First chance I got, that thing would have to come out, regardless of the pain. Up ahead, I could see the suggestion of buildings against the night sky. No, not buildings... tents. I had reached the Wu main camp. There weren't many torches at all - only the odd one here and there. That would be how they managed to go undetected in the dark for so long.

A group of around five soldiers had escorted me this far, and we were now approaching another general, who stood just to the right of a small torch. He wore a long coat, mainly white, but with red and gold decoration, as well as red trousers and a hairband which was, from my point of view, doing very little to hold his long, brown hair back. The torch flickered gently, casting an orange glow on his somewhat feminine features. He hadn't seen us yet.

"Lord Zhou Yu, we have captured an enemy general!" said one of my captors as we entered the circle of torchlight. Zhou Yu turned from his surveillance of the battlefield, and smiled at me.

"And what would your name be?" he asked.

"Su Zhi." I said, shortly and with bad grace.

"Well, Lady Su, I think that we will have to put you next to the main tents. That is, after we get that arrow wound looked at."

I stared at him. Of all the reactions to a prisoner I had expected, this one hadn't even registered as a possibility. However, before I could ask him the reason behind his kindness, I was marched off, through the dark maze of tents to the the one occupied by their medic.

It wasn't far. As soon as I was inside, they pushed me down onto a small crate that was acting as a chair. The medic was just rummaging through another crate to look for bandages or something. She looked quite young, and was dressed in a neat white and red uniform. As she came over to inspect my injury, I found myself wondering if the red uniforms were chosen for their ability to hide any blood spatters. This wasn't especially a comforting thought, especially as she was nudging the arrow, to see how deeply it was embedded in my arm.

I gave a small groan as she nudged it in a particularly painful direction, and saw her nod out of the corner of my eye. Turning to yet another crate, slightly larger this time, she took off the lid and started rummaging. I stared fixedly at the wall as she turned back to me, several different objects in her hands.

To distract myself from the oncoming pain, I began to think more about the Wu uniform. Every single one of those soldiers _OUCH _wore a red uniform, didn't _OW_ they? Why? To hide the _OUCH_ blood, or to represent blood, or _OW_ as a sort of,we fight so hard we can't get all the bloodstains out _OUCH_? Or was it to represent anger or hate or something like that? _OW_. Either way, it was a bit of a vicious message for the other side. I began to wonder what colours Wei and Shu habitually wore.

"There we are. Try and rest that arm up for a while."

The medic's words shook me out of my reverie about colour, and told the soldiers on either side of me I could go. I was hauled to my feet, my arm now dressed and in a crude sling around my neck, and taken to a tent which was about a minutes walk away. When we reached it, I was flung inside, and the entrance securely closed and guarded. I was going nowhere.

The tent itself was pretty bare. There was one small wooden crate in the centre, with a single white candle on a saucer keeping the darkness at bay. It was quiet all around - the only sounds were the muttering of the guards, the gentle flickering of the candle flame, and my own breathing. I sighed - the battle was finally over, for me at any rate.

I walked over to the crate. Now the adrenalin had worn off, I was feeling tired and sore all over. It was still the middle of the night - maybe half an hour had passed since I had been shaken awake by Ning - and I knew that there was only one real option for me. Sleep.

I settled down next to the crate, trying to find a comfortable position to lean against the rough wood in, and finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

For no particular reason I could think of, I dreamed of Nunchucks-guy and Ning fighting each other with large, foam covered rods that were for some reason decorated like bananas. I sat where I was, muzzily trying to work out what was going on, before all the aches and pains from the night before hit me with a vengeance. I was sore all over, but in particular, my back was throbbing in several places, my wounded arm was pure agony, my stomach was definitely feeling abused, and my head was aching.

I pulled myself to my feet on the second attempt, and supported myself against the crate until the stars cleared from my vision. I then gingerly tried to ease some of my aches, wincing as various muscles registered their complaints. Hobbling over to the entrance, I could see just enough to tell me that it looked to be another sunny day, but that it was still quite early in the morning. I sighed quietly, and went and sat back down on my crate.

It was a couple of hours before anything interesting happened. I was just wondering what Ning was up to when the entrance was pulled open, and two guards, the general from last night, and another man entered.

"Zhou Yu, right?" I asked the first general as the guards took up station either side of the doorway. He nodded curtly, and introduced the other man as Sun Quan, the current leader of Wu. I gave him a nod of acknowledgment as Zhou Yu continued.

"You may be interested to hear that we defeated Huang Zu and all of his generals last night."

I shrugged non-commitally, trying not to wince, as it reminded me of Ning again.

"Huang Zu means nothing to me."

"I'm happy to hear that. Now, we're here to offer you a choice; because you are our prisoner, you can either join us, or be executed."

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**A/N: **Well, that took a while to type up, mainly because my brain died halfway through, and I lost my ability to type properly. I hope you enjoyed it anyway, and please try to leave a comment. Bye! And I finally got around to editing this chapter so that it made more sense. Joy! 


	4. Another New Start

**A/N: **Argh, in the process of trying to update the chapters, I accidentally deleted this chapter, so sorry for the incongruency! Thanks go to Zalarina, kyanrato, Captain Kurt Hoffman, shyangel06, and shy boy (plus whoever I've forgotten) for comments and other assorted things. Here's the REAL chapter 4, and sorry for the mess up!

**Disclaimer: **Yeah, yeah, I only own Su Zhi. Try not to steal her, 'kay?

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I blinked as Zhou Yu continued.

"From what we saw last night, you would be a valuable asset to our cause."

"...And what exactly is your cause?" I asked carefully. After all, I was completely at their mercy, and a refusal on my part would prove fatal for me.

"To return the land to peace. To create an era of prosperity and opportunity for everyone." said Sun Quan, who was watching me carefully.

"If I do join, won't some of the other soldiers hold a grudge against me for killing some of them?" I asked, picturing Nunchucks-guy momentarily in my head.

"They'll soon adjust. I don't think it should be much of a problem." said Zhou Yu dismissively. I looked from him to Sun Quan, thinking hard. I didn't know what had happened to Ning yet, and even though I knew he would be fine, I wanted to know where he was. On the other hand, it would be harder to do if I was dead... I bit my lip and made up my mind.

"I don't see that I really have much choice in the matter. I would be honoured to join your ranks." I said, standing up and bowing to my new leader.

"Splendid! Then we can move you out of this dingy tent and put you somewhere nicer. We move out back to Jiang Dong palace this afternoon. Make sure you have everything with you that you want to bring," said Sun Quan, smiling at me. "And now, if you will excuse us, we have other business to attend to. It may interest you to know that another general who used to serve under Huang Zu has asked to join our ranks."

A mixture of hope and anxiety rose in my chest - hope that it was Ning, and anxiety if it wasn't - or worse, if it was Cai Mao. However, I did nothing but raise an eyebrow.

"Who is it?"

"You can come and see if you want. We're just off to talk to him now."

I nodded, and followed them out of the tent. Zhou Yu paused briefly to say something to the guards. I guessed it must have been about me, because they both glanced up at me, before nodding stiffly, and marching off into the maze of tents.

As we walked across the bustling camp to where the other ex-general of Huang Zu's waited, I overheard Zhou Yu and Sun Quan in quiet conversation.

"If this other general submits to us as well, then victory will be absolute."

"Even so, my Lord, Ling Cao was quite popular among the troops. We'll have to keep an eye on some of the officers..."

"Indeed - Ling Tong is quite devastated about it. However, you cannot win a battle without some casualties. He knows that."

I stopped listening there, because a nasty little hunch was developing at the back of my mind. Nunchucks-guy now had a name, and that name was Ling Tong. If he decided to try and enact vengeance again, I was pretty much screwed - at least until my arm healed enough for me to be able to fight properly again. Once again, I wondered where the hell Gan Ning as.

"He-ey, Su! Glad to see you made it!"

I stared. There, sitting calm as you like on a crate in the middle of the tent we had just entered, was Gan Ning, apparently uninjured, and wholly confident in himself.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, stupidly.

"Gan Ning surrendered to us shortly after Huang Zu was defeated." said Zhou Yu calmly.

"No feelings lost there, I imagine," I muttered, my eyes not leaving Ning. I continued to watch him as he answered their questions, and only snapped out of it when Zhou Yu said, "I won't deny it. You would be a great help to our cause. We leave at two o'clock. Be sure to have all your belongings with you."

Sun Quan and Zhou Yu left the tent, leaving me and Ning alone.

"How did you do that, then?" he asked, gesturing at my bandaged arm. As if on cue, it began to throb with a renewed agony.

"Archer." I said, wincing slightly.

"Ouch."

"Yeah. But, I mean, what actually happened to you? I was beginning to get worried."

"Nothin' much to say, really," he said, shrugging. "Went to help Cai Mao, then I met Taishi Ci. There were a few close misses there, I tell you. Then I get close to their main camp and I hear that our _beloved _leader Huang Zu's dead. So I surrendered. Asked to join, and here I am, bells and all."

I paused. There was a lot I wanted to talk about, but curiosity got the better of me.

"Why do you wear those bells, anyway?"

"To warn people I'm coming." he replied, an impish smirk on his face. I nodded.

"Nice."

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

Jiang Dong palace was immensely huge. It apparently contained room for the royal family (Suns Quan and Shang Xiang, plus assorted wives and ladies), over fifty generals, five thousand majors, and twenty thousand privates, plus the small army of servants and cooks needed to keep a place like this running smoothly. There were also around twenty ornamental gardens, and a few acres of land devoted to nothing but training. A rather large city clung to its walls. The noise around me hit me with the subtlety of a brick. It rather reminded me of my home in the year 2008.

"Well," said Ning, clapping me on the back, "welcome to life in the palace. Enjoy the novelty, because it only goes downhill from here."

I turned to look at him.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused, as he wandered closer to the palace gates.

"I've been in places like this before. You start out the guest of honour, the one who everyone's glad to have as an ally because they'd hate for you to be their enemy, but then you wake up one night to hear a mob outside your door, and then you_ know_ it's time to leave."

I stared at the back of his head.

"How many times has this happened?" I asked, out of a morbid sort of curiosity.

"Once or twice..." he said vaguely.

I shook my head, and walked over to Ning.

"Well, we'll just have to hope that that doesn't happen here, then."

Ning turned to look at me. I was facing towards the palace gates, but I could see him smiling at the edge of my field of vision.

"Yeah. Now let's go find out where we're staying."

Unsurprisingly, we had been placed in adjacent rooms, the furthest away from the Royal Chambers. I began to wonder how long it would be before they trusted us - probably not this month, at any rate. And how were they going to treat us? We _had _killed quite a few of their numbers -

I froze in the middle of my bedroom floor. What about Nunchucks-guy, Ling Tong, or whatever his name was? If anything, this would only make him hate us more, and give him several more opportunities to try and get us for his father's death. I really wasn't overly keen on encountering him again, at least until my arm had healed.

I shook my head again, and walked over to the bed. Maybe when I was feeling a bit braver, I'd find him and apologise. I mean, no I didn't actively kill what's-his-face - Ling Cao - but I didn't do anything to stop it, either. And I supposed that I couldn't even begin to know how hard it was to lose someone who you were so close to.

My room was beginning to bug me. It was quite simply furnished, with only a chest of drawers, a dresser, a stool, the bed, and a full length mirror, not including the small ensuite bathroom through a discrete door at the back of the room. Normally, bedrooms feel lived in, personalised, but as I was lacking anything significant to personalise my room with, I would just have to do my best with what was supplied for me.

The sound of me moving the furniture soon attracted Ning's attention - that, and the occasional curse as my arm twinged painfully.

"What are you up to in here?"

I looked up to see him leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed and a questioning eyebrow raised.

"Rearranging the furniture."

"I can see that, but why?"

"So that it looks like I plan on staying."

Ning appeared to be thinking about this.

"Makes sense. What are you gonna do for a weapon, though? You can't stick with broken spears."

I stopped pulling the dresser to the other side of the room, and though about it.

"I don't really know. Maybe a couple of blades attached to my wrists somehow?"

"Why attached?"

"I dunno. I'll have to think about it."

"Couldn't you just have a spear or something?"

"Can you imagine martial arts with a spear? Besides, it'd just get in the way."

Ning shrugged.

"Okay. It's your call." He launched himself off the door frame as I went back to my previous task, quickly reminding myself of my sore arm. "You want some help there?"

"Please."

With Ning's help, it only took me about ten minutes to finish moving things around. I'd been given some plain, dusty red robes to wear in place of my blood splattered ones, which made me feel a lot more comfortable. However, it meant that every time I walked past the mirror, in its new position in the corner, I had to do a double take around me to make sure that there was no-one else in the room with me.

I needed some new clothes. I could already guess that a major theme was going to be red, but now that I was more used to it, it didn't really bother me so much. Any red was fine, as long as it didn't remind me of last night - as soon as my thoughts strayed in that direction, I received the mental image of the look on Ling Cao's face as he realised he was dead, quickly followed by the look on Ling Tong's face just seconds before...

Ning must have seen me shudder.

"Look, try not to think about last night. You can't change anything that's already done, so you might as well move on. I mean, you're in Wu! A whole new life awaits you!"

"...I suppose."

X()(X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

My arm healed surprisingly fast - two weeks after Xia Kou, I was fit to resume weapons practice. However, I still only had my martial arts to fight with. All my weapons ideas were either too cliche or just too stupid to comprehend. In the end, I decided to stick with my dual blades idea, and, with the help of the armourer I came up with a couple of short blades that lay quite comfortably on the inside of my arm, until a flick of my wrist span them into position. The underside was padded, and the blades themselves were attached to leather gauntlets so that I wouldn't cut myself by accident.

But, something was still missing... For some reason, my mind kept on drifting to an old memory of Laura's, when I was younger, and had bought myself a pair of Clackers. They were lethal - practically all they were was a couple of two inch solid plastic balls on either end of a string. Several times, I had given myself some rather impressive bruises on my wrist, but I prided myself on mastering the basic technique.

But why not? Even if I didn't end up using them, they were always good backup for if my wrist blades jammed suddenly.

They didn't take long to make. They were essentially two hollow metal balls on either end of a cord. When I wasn't using them, I would just sling them around my neck so they were out of the way - echoing an old habit that used to annoy my mother senseless.

I had quickly become friends with several of the other Wu generals, including Sun Shang Xiang and the Qiao sisters, which proved to be rather useful for when it came to buying myself some new clothes. The girls often came with me, and with their advice, I quickly built up a respectable wardrobe. The outfit that I loved the most, however, consisted of a snugly fitted ruby red top with silver detailing on the ends of the elbow length sleeves, and red, knee length trousers with silver detail on the left hip. To finish off the look, I usually wore plain black fabric pumps. The girls all agreed that I looked good, and I was so comfortable that I felt no need to change my outfit much.

I suppose Ning didn't really have much to do during those first few weeks, because quite often he would either be training alongside me, or just watching from the shade of a nearby oak tree. I learned just how much of a friend he was during that month or so - he was always upbeat, and could reliably cheer me up after a bad training session. He was always there for me, as well. We became pretty much inseparable.

Therefore, it was a bit strange that I was alone today. Winter was fast approaching, and it was dark by the time I went to put my weapons away. My Clackers remained around my neck, as per usual, and I was just turning to leave the room when I saw a figure. He hadn't seen me yet, but there was just enough light from a nearby candle for me to make out that it was Ling Tong. Sun Shang Xiang had already filled me in on his relationship with his father, and I didn't really blame him for hating me so much for not stopping it, but it was like Ning said - you helped your allies, and killed your enemies. Nevertheless, I felt that I had to apologise.

As I approached, Tong turned around, and his expression went from glum to despising instantly.

"Look, I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right now, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry about your father."

"'Sorry' won't bring him back."

"Well, what do you want me to do?"

"Right now? Go the hell away and leave me alone."

I swallowed my rising annoyance, and left. Nothing would be gained if I kicked off a whole big argument now, and I could almost understand what he was going through, even if he was going to be crude about it.

Ning was waiting for me in my room, sprawling in one of the chairs I had bought earlier in the month. He grinned at me as I entered.

"Looks like things are goin' to get interesting soon."

"Oh, _hooray_. Why do you say that?"

"'Cause, from the sound of it, we're about to team up with Shu and fight Wei. The battle looks to be in two, three weeks time."

I stared at him as I sat down on the edge of my bed.

"How do you pick up these things?"

Ning smirked, and tapped the side of his nose.

"Got a talent for hearing the latest news."

"So, chatting up the servants again?"

"Would I do a thing like that?" he asked, then laughed at my expression. "Okay, okay, you know me too well."

I flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. I wasn't too keen on going into battle again so soon, but I was far more preoccupied by my earlier encounter with Ling Tong. I was beginning to get a rather negative view of him, which didn't really make sense. From what I'd seen, he was just struggling to contain his grief over his fathers death, but the fact that he was pinning the blame on me really wasn't helping matters much.

I didn't have the opportunity to think more into it than that, though, because right on cue, Ning's stomach rumbled.

"You can tell the time of day just from your stomach," I said, smiling as I raised my head so that I could see him, before sitting up again. "Come on, let's get some food."

"Sounds good to me."

We knew our way around the palace by now, and all the earlier mistrust had vanished, save for a few people who were still half-heartedly waiting for us to kill Sun Quan and try to take over. When we reached the mess hall, it was just getting busy, but Shang Xiang, Lu Xun, and the Qiao sisters had saved us a couple of seats. By now, I knew all about them and their backgrounds, and as such always tried to be nice to Da Qiao.

As we sat down, Shang Xiang immediately burst out into chatter. I could see that she'd been waiting rather impatiently to tell us what she was saying, but I soon had to stop her.

"Woah, woah, slow down! What are you trying to tell us?"

"Quan told me today that we're joining up with Shu to attack Cao Cao, because he's trying to destroy Liu Bei, so we're in an alliance, but Cao Cao found out and he's got together a massive fleet and is sailing down to try and attack us, so Quan is doing the same except Wei's fleet is much bigger, but Wu is practically _made_ of people who were born on boats and have been sailing their whole lives and the fight is in a couple of weeks so we don't have much time to prepare." she said in one big breath.

I waited to see if she was done, and when she didn't say anything, opened my mouth to speak.

"Oh, and Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang and for some reason Huang Gai are all getting together to try and work out some sort of strategy to make things a bit easier, which should be interesting because Zhou Yu hates Zhuge Liang, but at least Huang's there to stop him actively trying to murder him."

I shut my mouth. I then opened it again to say, "Is that everything?"

Shang Xiang looked thoughtful for a minute.

"I think so."

"I wondered why Zhouie was looking so annoyed earlier," piped up Xiao Qiao.

"Speaking as an ex-pirate, naval battles are interesting at best. How big is Cao Cao's fleet?" asked Ning between mouthfuls.

"At best, they outnumber us ten to one."

"That's not too great. Couldn't we use fire or something? Burn the ships, demoralise Wei, possibly kill a few of 'em?"

"No. It's winter." said Lu Xun. "Try setting fire to their ships, and the wind will blow the flames right back at us. It's not worth it."

"Well, I hope they come up with something good." I said as I swallowed a mouthful. "I'm not too bothered about the fighting, but even brute force won't win if it's ten to one."

"Don't worry. Yu and Zhuge are probably the two cleverest strategists around, and Huang Gai's our most loyal general. If it can be done, it will," said Shang Xiang, with a finality that ended the conversation. We sat in thoughtful silence, slowly eating our food (with the exception of Gan Ning, who cleared his plate a minute later, and wandered off to refill it). I didn't know how or why, but a gut feeling told me that we were going to win.

The Qiao sisters were the first to leave, Xiao excitedly telling her sister about a dress she had seen on the market that was "absolutely perfect, honestly, you'll love it!", and Lu Xun followed soon after. Ning was just clearing his second plateful when it happened. The room was nearly empty at this point - only me, Ning, Shang Xiang and a couple of other generals, as well as a few late stragglers who were quickly filling up on food, were left. I was sat facing away from the doorway, opposite Ning, so the first I knew of anything wrong was when Ning suddenly lunged across the table at me, pushing me to the ground with one arm.

I landed rather heavily, and was about to complain, when I looked up to see something that I wasn't expecting in the least.

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**A/N: **This chapter takes forever to type up! Argh! Sorry for the wait while I retyped it. Hopefully it flows a bit better now. Or something. (runs away.)


	5. Scarred for Life

**A/N:** Thanks to Zalarina, Captain Kurt Hoffman, XXTakaraXX, Beautihul Miko, and kyanrato for commenting, etc. I just want to point out that this story is taking AGES to update because I'm trying to write so that I'm always 4 chapters ahead in my notebook - about 20 pages per chapter. Yes, I've already used 155 pages to write this story in. I'm going to need another notebook soon (**Edit:** try 368 pages and two notebooks). This is my longest chapter yet - over 4,000 words after I've edited it! What the hell?

I hope I'm still keeping these people in character.

Wow - 20 reviews and only on the 4th chapter? And with over 500 views. That's way better than my other story - With Changes Come Chances. (If you're going to read it, bear in mind that I need to... like... kick myself for making it so crap). Thanks for all the support!

**Disclaimer:** I only own Su Khi, and anyone stealing her shall be ripped to pieces by wild horses. You have been warned...

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Ling Tong was in front of me, furiously attacking Ning across the table. I blinked. Ning was trying to defend himself from Tong's frantic attacks with only his forearms, but I could see him grimace slightly with every contact. I scrambled to my feet, aware of shouting all around me, and reached Tong at the same time as Shang Xiang and one of the other generals did.

Tong was really going at it - it was a wonder he hadn't really hurt Ning yet, and he didn't seem to care that he had attracted an audience. We had just succeeded in separating them when Sun Quan pushed to the front of the crowd. He didn't look pleased.

Everyone was crowded around Tong; some were shouting, some just staring, and Tong himself was looking angry, yet somewhat ashamed. I slipped away, and went over to where Ning had sat after the onslaught had subsided.

"You okay?" I asked, settling down next to him.

"Yeah. Couple a' places where I'll get some bad bruises, but it's not the worst I've had."

"Tong's got some nerve..."

"Eh, I don't blame the guy. I did kill his old man, like he said, but think of how many other old men and brothers and friends I've killed. One guy doesn't make much difference to me any more, especially when they're the enemy."

"But he could have really hurt you! And with this battle coming up..."

"Yeah, but he didn't."

"Why are you defending him?"

"Why are you so determined to make him the bad guy?"

"Rrgh!"

I pushed myself up and stalked out of the hall. I didn't even_ have_ any reason to hate the guy, not anything that would stand up to anyone else, but the fact that I hated him so much anyway just seemed to make he hate him more, and even though he irritated me more than anyone else I'd ever met, it still didn't fully explain what it was that made me detest him so much. I was angrier now than I had been in - well, in as long as I could remember, and even angrier that it was because of _him_.

Besides, Tong clearly hated me back. If Ning hadn't reacted so quickly and shoved me out of the line of fire, I could have been the one on the receiving end of Tong's rage, and it wasn't Ning who he had tried to beat the living shit out of at Xia Kou. So why was I annoyed at Ning, too?

Argh, this just wasn't making any sense any more, but I was way too worked up to care. I reached my room, and flung myself onto the bed, face first, before rolling onto my back. Over the past month or so, I had acquired severalpaintings and such to decorate my room with, and no-one could say that the room wasn't mine, but even these personal touches were annoying me. I really needed to work off some anger.

It was completely dark by the time I reached the training area, but there was just enough moonlight to see by. The dummies had been packed away for the night, but I was too stressed to get one out, so I walked into the middle of the area, and just stood there for a minute. Slipping easily into a ready stance, I let my eyes close, and let the lid off my suppressed anger. The red hot feeling bubbled through me, making my fingers reflexively curl into fists and twitch, then I opened my eyes and began.

I began with my favourite pattern from my lessons in Taekwando as Laura, _sam jang_, but I didn't stay there. Parts of other patterns got slipped in - what did it matter if I got it absolutely right now? - and I began to perform more extravagant feats. Kicks became mingled with back hand springs, punches were followed up by butterfly kicks and front somersault axe kicks - I just did whatever I had to do to keep me moving. At one point, I began an intricate series of cartwheels and flips, which somehow ended with me running halfway up the trunk of a tree, before I ran out of momentum, and pushed off into a move which ended with me facing the way I had just come.

When I finally stopped, I was absolutely and completely out of breath, but some of my anger had been burned off, too. I leaned against the tree I'd just ran up for a couple of minutes, getting my breath back, and the cold finally began to prickle at my bare arms. Just how angry had I been? I had never been this out of breath after a release session in as long as I could remember.

I turned to go inside, my breath misting in front of me, and I saw a skinny figure slip out from the shadows and enter the castle before me. I couldn't be certain, but I think it was Tong.

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

The next few weeks passed in a frenzy of meetings, worried faces, and careful avoidance of Tong. All of the rumours about this new battle were turning out to be true, and I was really beginning to get worried about it. From what I had heard so far, Lu Xun and Da Qiao were quite definitely taking care of things back here, Shang Xiang and Gan Ning would be acting as back-up, and a whole load of other generals, including Tong and Xiao Qiao, were going head on with the massive Wei army.

As far as I knew, I was to stay with Xun and Da Qiao in the palace. Either they had decided that 16 was too young for the battlefield, or they had forgotten about me (I was beginning to suspect that most people either knew me as "the quiet one", or "Gan Ning's friend, you know - that girl."). It was no fun, watching all your friends get ready for battle, and knowing you were being left behind.

I managed to catch Ning just before he left with the rest of the generals. He was packing the last of his things away onto a cart as I approached, but turned when I called to him.

"Hey, Su. 'Sup?"

"Aren't you scared? I mean, they outnumber us at least five to one!"

"Nah. Whether you win or not doesn't depend on how big your army is, it depends on what you do with it. 'Sides, we got a strategy planned out."

"Yeah, but..." My expression made it clear enough. I'd heard about the proposed strategy of praying to make the winds change direction so that our ships would remain unharmed when we set fire to their fleet, and it didn't give me any confidence about the battle.

"Don't worry about it! I'm used to naval combat - so's the whole of Wu. There's one advantage right there!"

"...Just come back in one piece."

A shout echoed up from the front of the convoy. Ning glanced around.

"That's us off, I reckon. See you when we've won!"

I watched him swing himself onto a horse, and ride off after the various carts. When he finally vanished over the horizon, I sighed, and went back inside. Until they came back, there wasn't much to do but train, unless someone decided to attack while they were away. Xun would study, Da would do... whatever it was she did all day, and all I could do was practice my moves. The days ahead looked bleak.

Something did happen, however, four days after they had gone, when I was exploring the countryside around the palace. I had ridden to the south of the palace on a horse, and had left it tied to a tree nearby. I hadn't thought to bring my blades with me, but I wasn't expecting anything to happen, and I always had my Clackers, just in case. I made a point of training with them every so often, so when something rustled loudly in a nearby bush, it was a matter of instinct to whip around and swing my Clackers into a ready position.

There appeared to be nothing suspicious, but I was still alert. Was it just me, or were the shadows among the trees wrong? Could I hear someone else breathing? Or was it all just my imagination?

I crept closer to the little copse, holding my Clackers gently in my left hand as per usual. I was about 10 metres from the tree line when someone grabbed my arm from behind. Wildly swinging my Clackers, I span around and felt my weapons connect with something. I caught a glimpse of a dark figure as it slipped back into the shrubbery, before I span back to face the woodland, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. The shadows had changed again - how many people was there hiding among this piece of forest?

I turned again to try and see what it was I had just hit, but saw nothing. An eerie silence had settled over the little copse, and the only thing I could hear was the sound of my own breathing and pounding heart.

Senses almost painfully alert, I slowly turned back to the tree line again, and advanced further. I was literally centimetres from the nearest tree when someone grabbed me from behind for the second time. Strong arms had forced mine to my sides before I could react, and a foul-smelling rag was clamped over my mouth and nose. I struggled violently against my captor, but he was simply too strong, and whatever was on that rag was making me feel woozy. My eyelids drooped treacherously as my energy trickled away, and I felt my Clackers drop from my hand, but I couldn't tell when they hit the ground. The last thing I knew was... nothing.

The next thing I knew, however, was being shaken awake by a pair of hands. I groaned slightly, and rolled onto my back, making it on the second attempt. I tried to open my eyes, but only my left one was working properly. Someone close to me gasped, but I couldn't make out who it was. As far as I knew, I was still at the little clump of trees as before, and some careful probing with one hand produced my Clackers, lying where they had been dropped. Strange. Why attack me, then leave me with a weapon?

_"We've got to get you back to the palace."_

The voice cut through my confused thoughts, and I finally realized who it was who had found me. But what was Da Qiao doing outside of the palace?

I only noticed we weren't alone when she helped me to my feet. A squad of soldiers, all dressed in red, were peering at me in concern. If I wasn't feeling so utterly confused I would have wondered why, and also what it was that was making my face throb so painfully, but my concentration was completely scattered.

As I was helped towards a horse, a thought drifted across my disorientated brain.

"My horse... it's-"

"Shh... try not to talk. You've got a nasty cut on your face." said Da in a soothing voice. "We'll get your horse once we've sorted you out."

I nodded slowly. Everything was still quite confusing to me at the minute, but Da sounded like she knew what was going on, so I let her take control. In the meantime, I could try and figure out what had happened.

By the time we reached the palace, my thoughts were beginning to get clearer, and I could remember all the events up to me blacking out. Da had insisted that I rode behind her on her horse, but I only realised we were back when she slipped off the horse, and helped me down after her. I could nearly walk without support, but whatever had been on that rag was still making it hard for me to think straight.

"Oh, my - Su! What happened?"

I looked up, and recognised Xun hurrying towards me.

"I think she was attacked by someone!"

"Come on, the medic's this way..."

I think I may have blacked out at this point, because the next thing I can remember was lying in the infirmary, staring at the ceiling. Most of the grogginess seemed to have vanished, but the right side of my face was throbbing worse than before, and I still couldn't get my eye to open.

"How are you feeling, Su?"

I winced, and glanced at where Xun was sat.

"Terrible... what happened?"

Well, you were... attacked. You must have been knocked out at some point, because when Da Qiao found you, you were out of it. She got you back here, and you blacked out again. You... your face..."

Xun trailed off, looking quite uncomfortable.

"My face? What-"

"Look, you shouldn't be talking so much. You'll just make it worse, and you're lucky you still have both eyes, and it honestly doesn't look too bad-"

I actually growled.

"Get. Me. A. Mirror..."

Xun sighed, but left the room. I raised my hand, and gingerly ran my fingers over the right side of my face. It didn't give me much confidence.

So, what - some guys jump me, knock me out with a _smell_ but leave me with a weapon, and then cut up my face? If it hadn't actually happened to me, I would have doubted that it was possible - or plausible. I mean, why? I couldn't see the point.

Xun returned with a handheld mirror.

"Just... don't get too upset..." he murmered as he reluctantly held it out. I snatched it from him and raised it to my face - before stopping and staring in shock at my reflection.

It was horrific. The whole of the right side of my face was taken up by two ugly, vivid scars. They lay in a cross, one running from the middle of my forehead to my right cheek, and the other running from the corner of my eyebrow to the edge of my nose. With my eye closed, I could see that they crossed over in the middle of my swollen, bruise-red eyelid. I immediately knew that they would be permanent scars, and that it was literally a miracle they hadn't taken out my eye when they had done it.

I let out a shaky breath, and tried to think of something to say, but I was just so horrified that I couldn't think straight. I let the mirror fall away from my face, and stared unseeingly at the wall. My mind was a total blank. What could I have said that would have made it any different?

Xun gently took the mirror from my unresisting grasp, unable to look me in the eye.

"The swelling should go down soon, but... it's going to scar permanently. Sorry."

I transferred my horrified gaze to Xun's face.

"But... why?"

"Don't talk! Look, I'll get you something to write with."

Xun left the room, taking the mirror with him. I let my head fall back onto the pillow, and stared unfocusedly at the ceiling. What would everyone say when they saw me? How weak would I look to Tong...?

Xun reappeared as I was wondering how Tong got in there, carrying a couple of blank scrolls of paper, a quill, and an inkwell. I blinked at the quill while he placed everything onto a nearby table. Even though the shock was subsiding, the same thoughts were running through my mind. Why had this happened? Why me, a sixteen year old girl, of all people? Am I going to be stuck looking like this forever? _Why had this happened?_

Xun carefully moved the table closer to where I lay, then helped me to sit up. Once I was settled again, I picked up the quill with a trembling hand, dipped it gently into the inkwell, and wrote one word.

'Why?'

"I don't know. Can you tell me what you remember? I'm going to have to tell Sun Quan about this, and we can try and figure out why this happened at the same time."

It took a fair amount of time and ink smudges before I was finished, but this is what the final version read, minus crossing outs:

'I went out to see what the countryside was like around here. Came to a small wood, something was wrong. The shadows were wrong. I could hear someone else breathing. Went to look, someone grabbed me. From behind. Hit them with my Clackers, but couldn't make out anyone. Only shadows. Closer to trees, grabbed again. A rag was held on my face. It stank. Really strange smell on the rag, made me feel woozy. I black out. Wake up, and Da's there, and I couldn't think straight. Disorientated, confused.'

"A strange smell, that made you confused and disorientated?" Xun said, more to himself than me. I nodded slightly as I delicately put the quill down on the table. With the initial shock fading fast, I was being hit by a horrendous depression. Vicious little thoughts of how nobody would want to know me, that I was ugly, that I was worthless now, skittered across my mind and drowned out the voice of reason. I could only just focus on Xun when he nodded and stood up.

"I'm going to go and write to Sun Quan now. Will you be okay?"

I could see him waiting for a response, but I was too preoccupied and depressed to give him one. He gave me a pitying little smile as he left the room, and I slumped further down into despair. I just wanted to be left alone.

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

Nothing else noteworthy happened until the main army returned. I somehow managed to escape any infection, but if anything, my scars were more noticeable now the swelling had gone down. The fact that I could now open my right eye slightly, and was allowed to talk again, meant nothing in the face of the vicious mental battering I'd given myself.

I had practically become a hermit, not leaving my room for anything. My food was periodically brought and left for me to eat, but I just couldn't work up any appetite. I knew that I should eat, but what was the point? So we had beaten Wei. It meant nothing to me.

I knew that the rest of the army was returning today, and I was gripped by a strange, almost paralysing fear. I didn't want any of them to see me like this. What if they really did desert me? What if they only saw the scars, and didn't want to know? I just couldn't live with that. I needed my friends support, and I wasn't sure if I deserved it anymore.

Hearing heavy footsteps in the corridor, I knew that they were back, and I braced myself for their disgust. The footsteps reached my room, but I didn't need to turn around to know that it was Ning. I remained facing the far wall, my shoulders slouched in despair.

"Hey, you ok?"

"Yeah." I said, quietly. This was the first time I had spoken in a fortnight. I was surprised my voice didn't crack.

"Well, you don't sound it."

I could tell from his tone of voice that he was really worried about me, but I just shrugged despondently, hearing his footsteps cross the room to where I was sat. I let my hair drop across my face as a lump formed in my throat. This was going to be my hardest challenge to date, and I knew it.

"Look, how you look isn't everything. If anyone's negative about it then that's just them being insecure. It's just a shock, and we wouldn't react if we didn't care about you. So are you going to let me see?"

I hesitated. I knew he was telling the truth, that he wouldn't lie to me over something like this, but the conflict in my head was unbearable. Screwing up the tiny bit of courage still remaining, I stood, and turned to face him. Even then, I didn't dare look him in the eye. He gently brushed away the piece of hair obscuring my scar, and I heard him suck in air as he saw it.

That was it. He had seen it, now all I could do was brace myself for rejection. I just wanted to scream for the tension, but I knew that it would just bring unwanted attention, and the only thing I wanted to do was hole myself up in my room forever.

Ning gently took me by the chin, and made me look him in the face. Terrified of what I might see, I looked up and met his gaze, and the feeling of relief that flooded through me was indescribable. In that honest, steady gaze, I only saw pity and concern, as well as his normal impish sparkle.

"It kinda suits you."

I smiled weakly.

"Thanks."

We both knew that the thanks was for more than his compliment.

"I'm hearing that there's a party downstairs. You gonna come, or don't you feel up to it yet?"

"I still need some time to get used to this, thanks."

"Ok. Just remember - it's what's inside that counts. Anyone who only sees the scar isn't worth your time." Ning walked over to the door. "Oh, and if it helps," he said over his shoulder, "Tong looked like crap when he heard about you."

I stared after Ning as he left. How would that help? I hated Tong, Tong hated me. Ning knew that.

I was feeling a lot more confident as I turned from the door, though. He was right - my disfiguring scar would fade over time, even if it never faded completely, and I was still the same person inside, if rather less confident now. Besides, I was lucky. Xun, in an attempt to cheer me up, had told me about an officer who served under Cao Cao who, ten years back, had received an arrow in the eye (before pulling both arrow and eye out of his socket and eating it, which was a bit... weird). I also knew that Zhou Tai had a scar from saving Sun Quan's life once.

I glanced up at the sound of light footsteps, but I wasn't quick enough to shield my face. There was a gasp from the doorway.

"...Oh, Su..."

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**A/N: **Wow. I'm now convinced that I'm an emo. I possibly made that bit _too_ dark and despairing. Tell me what you think.

**A/N2:** I've just discovered something. In 207, Gan Ning was 32. He is 2 TIMES older than Su Zhi. I think I'm going to have to make him a _leetle_ bit younger. You know, just enough so he doesn't sound like some creepy old man preying on 'innocent' little teenagers.


	6. Propositions

**A/N:** Thanks to Zalarina, Bladed Thesis, Rothek the Thief, AlmightySquirrelQueen, Zakuo, kyanrato, duckmasta2020, Ano-Hitori-Chichi, Wolf, Captain Kurt Hoffman, Beautihul Miko, XXTakaraXX, darken-child, cute-stack-twin and anyone else who I might have missed... (takes deep breath) for various comments, etc. Y'all are giving me the impression my story's fantabulous, and I shower thankies on those people! (I also hope y'all won't lynch me for taking so long to post...)

Holy bleep on a popsicle, this story now has the most reviews, favourites, and alerts out of ALL of my other stories. And I've already broken 700 views. Thanks to everyone who's made it this far with me!

**Disclaimer:** (evil cackle) I DO own all the various trademarks and people in this story! Oh, wait, I haven't completed world dominance yet... guess I don't. 'Part from Su Zhi, but y'all should know that by now.

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I managed a weak smile as Shang Xiang unfroze and came into the room.

"...It looks worse than it is."

"But... didn't it hurt?" She looked at a loss for words, her eyes fixed upon my scar in a mix of dismay and pity.

"At first. But at least I didn't lose my eye."

Shang Xiang shook her head lightly.

"Yeah, you're right. It's just... a bit of a shock, that's all. When Xun said you were attacked, he didn't say _how_."

"Hmm."

I sat on the bed, my pool of self pity returning as my shoulders slumped. I heard Shang Xiang move across the room, and felt the structure of the bed sag slightly as it took her weight. I let her pull me into an embrace as she spoke.

"Look, you're probably going to be told this a million times over the next year or so, but anyone who makes an issue over your scar is either concerned for you, or not worth the bother. Trust me. People just don't always react well to change."

I said nothing, trying to hold back tears that had materialised out of thin air.

"Yeah, the next few months won't be easy for you if you don't know how to take it, but just give people chance to adjust. Come a year's time, no-one'll even notice."

I sniffed, not daring to say anything.

"You know we're here for you. I mean, you've got some great friends. Wu's the friendliest place I know, if you just give people the chance to show it. Just don't bite our heads off if we keep staring at your scar."

I smiled slightly under Shang Xiang's arm.

"Now, I'm gonna let you off this party, just while people adjust," she said, releasing me at last. "But," she began, waggling her finger at me, "after that, no excuses. You're going to have fun whether you want to or not! So come on. Smile."

I gave her another weak smile, but began to giggle as she pouted at me.

"That's better. Don't let it get to you." Shang Xiang stood up and stretched. "Now, I'm gonna go party. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you're fine, but you don't feel up to it, okay?" I nodded, and she moved to leave the room.

"Oh," she added as she was about to exit, "and, if you would, don't bother me until the evening. I wouldn't say, but chances are I'll have a monster hangover until then, and I don't want to be all snappy at you."

I flopped back on the bed as her footsteps faded away. I knew that everything she had said made sense, but I was still dubious. I wasn't sure this thing would blow over so quickly, or that I'd be able to last until then. I'd just have to see how it went.

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The people adjusted to the new me faster than I had expected, and my confidence began to grow again. However, there was always going to be one person who wouldn't let it lie, and no prizes for guessing who _that _was.

I still went out of my way to avoid Tong, but he must have been stalking me or something. Every time I turned around, there he was. Most of the time, it didn't get any further than that, as there were usually other people around, but occasionally he would say or do something to get at me, and I was always left feeling annoyed and self-conscious.

It was during one of these encounters that I finally snapped. It began fairly typically. As it was approaching summer again, I was practicing until later and later, and everybody had left for the distant prospects of food and sleep. I went to put my weapons away, and, as per usual, turned to see Tong stalking me again. I scowled at him, my mood instantly foul.

"I still don't believe you managed to get a scar _that_ big off the battlefield," he said. This was a typical insult from the skinny officer, and normally I would have countered with a dry comment on his originality, but today hadn't been a good day for me.

"Really? Well, I can't believe that you haven't dropped this yet! What's your problem? It's been six months, for crying out loud! Just get over it and leave me alone!"

I like to think I saw a flash of intimidation, of realization of having gone just that little bit too far, but I would have been imagining it. Something must have penetrated that thick skull of his, though, because I didn't see him around so much after that, and that suited me just fine.

Before I even noticed he'd backed off, though, something happened that shook Wu to its core. The first I knew of it was when Xiao Qiao didn't turn up for any of the day's meals. I knew something was up just by that - Xiao, despite eating like a bird, seldom missed more than one meal in a row when she wasn't away on training, and I wasn't aware of her leaving. Several other officers were looking a bit pensive as well, and a thoroughly gloomy air had descended over the place by dinnertime.

It wasn't until after dinner that I found out why everyone was so worried. I finally managed to corner Ning for long enough to find out what was up, and his reaction alone made me realize how serious it was.

"What's going on? Why's everyone so gloomy today?"

Ning shifted uncomfortably before answering, and I knew that it was something seriously big. Ning was Wu's most fearless and forthright general - it was almost surreal to see him hesitate.

"...Zhou Yu's ill. From what I've managed to pick up... they don't think he'll make it."

It was my turn to hesitate.

"...Zhou Yu's dying?"

Ning nodded reluctantly, unable to look me in the eye. I shook my head in disbelief.

"...That's not possible... he can't die when everyone's talking about Zhuge Liang and the three major kingdoms... What are we going to do..?"

Ning still didn't say anything, but I had known him long enough that it didn't matter. He was deeply worried, and now, so was I.

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Zhou Yu died five days later. It was a very low time for the whole palace - even among the servants, he was known for being polite, courteous, personable, and calm. Even I, who had only met Yu a few times, was feeling the city-wide air of depression and grief that had settled, even though I put on a brave face and carried on with life as normal.

For the first month or so, Xiao Qiao was inconsolable. The normally hyper girl was completely subdued, and had taken to spending most of her time with Da Qiao in one of their rooms.

Lu Su took over as the main strategist and adviser, and, somehow, Ning and I became the ones who cheered everyone up. In fact, I think that this was the point that everyone began to see me in a different light. Almost overnight, I seemed to go from 'the quiet one' to 'the all-round confident one you'd like to be friends with', and I appreciated the change.

The grief eventually began to subside, Lu Meng took over from Lu Su, and Xiao Qiao began to return to her old self again. Apart from a few border scuffles, everything was more or less peaceful - a fact we were grateful for as a grieving faction. Wei were trying to rebuild their reputation, having just defeated the defending forces at Tong Gate, Shu were finally settling into a territory of their own - everything was calm, but tense.

This state ended with a visit from a Shu diplomat, sent probably by Zhuge Liang. As per usual, I was one of the last to find out why.

The reason - that Shu wanted us to attack Wei while their attention was elsewhere - was clear enough, but suspicious. For once, I was in agreement with Tong - that, surely, this battle was their own business - but that apparently wasn't the view of either Sun Quan or Lu Meng.

Various meetings took place in the more private parts of the palace, the result of which was Quan apparently consenting to get his hands dirty for the other faction. Several of us, including me, Ning, Shang Xiang and Tong, were called to the battle briefing five days before we were due to set off for He Fei.

"I know you may not agree with the reasons we are fighting, but suffice to say that it proves just as advantageous for us as for Shu. There are few troops stationed around He Fei, and the land is strategically important to us - not to mention, we are closer to it than any back-up troops of Cao Cao's." Quan said, as way of introduction. I glanced at the map spread out in the center of the table as Lu Meng continued.

"Ling Tong, you will cut through the middle, clearing out the supply bases _here_ and _here_," Meng said, indicating two symbols on the map. Tong nodded just once, his eyes fixed on the map, and Meng continued. "Su Zhi, you will approach the Wei main camp from the west, clearing out all bases you encounter. Pan Zhang, you will approach from the south and take out Yue Jin. Lady Sun shall head our first line of defence. Gan Ning, we've already spoken. Head out tonight, and you should arrive on time. Is that understood?"

The last part was aimed at all present, and we murmured our acknowledgment before filing out. I caught up with Ning in the corridor outside.

"What was all that about?" I asked him.

"Gonna lead an attack from the river. There's a perfect landing space a couple of hundred meters from their main camp. We figure if we catch 'em off guard, the battle's pretty much ours."

I nodded slowly, remembering the many little streams and rivers indicated on the main map.

"...Yeah, that could work. But why do you have to head out so soon?"

Ning shrugged.

"Think about it - we've got to go upstream to get the boats, which takes up the best part of two days, then we've got to sail them downstream, avoiding other pirates, to try and get there in time for the battle. Don't wanna miss the main event."

By this point we were outside the palace, and we began to walk in the direction of one of the many ornamental gardens, still chatting.

"That means I'm going to be alone with Tong for the best part of five days."

"Come on, you don't still hate him that much, do you?"

"I can't help it - he's either stalking me, insulting me, or doing something else to irritate me. It's like he has nothing better to do."

Ning chuckled as we reached the garden, before sitting on one of the carved stone benches.

"You could always just ignore him, you know."

I walked in front of him and turned to face him, hands on hips.

Trust me, I've tried that one. It doesn't work." I paused as a thought crossed my mind. "Don't you need to be preparing to head out?"

Ning shrugged, before leaning back on the stone bench.

"Sorted that earlier. You don't make much of an officer - or a pirate - if you can't pre-empt orders."

I sat down next to him.

"Oh."

We sat in companionable silence for a while, until Ning sighed loudly and sat forwards.

"Better go get myself ready, then. And don't worry about Tong. I'll get someone to have a word with him."

I stood as he did.

"Thanks. I'll try and keep the battle going till you get there. Just don't get lost on the way down!"

"Heh, no worries there. You're talking to the finest ex-pirate captain this side of Japan!" I rolled my eyes as he continued. "Just try and keep your cool with Tong, and I'll see you in five days."

I watched as he walked back into the palace, before sitting again. Ning didn't need me getting in the way as he made the final preparations. I'd just have to see him when he sailed into port at He Fei.

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The two day horse ride was nearly over. I sat astride my tawny mare, idly staring at the horizon, before another set of hoofbeats alerted me to the presence of someone else. I turned to see who it was, and my face fell as I saw it was Tong.

"Look," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "about all that teasing and stuff... I'm sorry if it offended you, okay?"

I shrugged, disinterestedly. My fairly constant dislike of him was firmly on hold until we returned home, but that didn't mean I had to be _nice_ to him.

"I mean, it's not that I hate you or anything... I mean, it's anything _but_ that, I don't know why I..." he trailed off in the face of my oppressive silence and blank stare. "I... I'm just sorry, okay?"

When I still didn't reply, he sighed, and dropped back into his place among the procession of carts and people.

As he left my line of sight, I started to feel a bit bad about brushing him off without a word. Yes, I disliked him intensely, but he was trying to _apologise _to me, and I was kind of a jerk to him, and at the end of the day, it had been refreshing to have a challenge every now and then...

Augh, why was I thinking like that? I didn't like Tong, I _didn't_! But it was true. I mean, I certainly didn't look forward to Tong teasing me daily, but I would have missed it if he hadn't, and - Hey, what did he mean when he said it was 'anything but that'? I mean, I knew he didn't _hate_ me as such, it had been too long even for _him_ to keep a grudge, but surely that didn't mean he _liked_ me... Argh! Why the hell was I thinking into it so much?! It was only an apology! It probably didn't even _mean_ anything, even if I knew in my heart of hearts that I didn't exactly _dislike_ him any more - Damn it! Just stop thinking about it!

Keeping a carefully blank expression, I returned my gaze to the horizon, and spent the rest of the journey thinking about the most random of things; anything to stop my mind returning to Tong.

When the camp was set up, in a small clearing about a mile from the large castle at He Fei, I went for a little explore to try and get a feel of the lay of the land. It wasn't easy - word of our attack had somehow leaked, and on every road up to the castle, it seemed, Wei soldiers were patrolling.

I didn't really learn anything from the snooping except what I already knew, and so returned to the camp just in time to catch the final briefing. Cao Cao was about 12 miles to the north, with various back-up units closing in, but they were sufficiently few and far between for us to not worry. I retired to my tent soon after the briefing drew to a close.

I was beginning to experience a strange mixture of fear, anticipation, excitement, and apprehension. This was, after all, my first real battle - I didn't count Xia Kou, really - and I had been given command of a sizeable army. I knew all there was to know about the conditions of the battle, and as much as could be known about the opposing officers. I should have been using that information to try and create a plan, I knew, but I was too jumpy to think straight, and with Ning promising to turn up tomorrow, victory looked like a certainty. I just had to try and keep my cool until then.

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The next day was overcast, yet bright. It was a couple of hours before dusk, and my sub-generals were experienced and my soldiers optimistic, and, to top it all off, I had just set fire to an enemy base that stood in our way.

Striding through the flames, I whipped my wrist blade around in a flat, wide sweep that incapacitated several of the enemy. My soldiers cheered, and surged forward to meet the next wave of Wei infantry. I stopped for a minute to survey the area, noticing that there seemed to be a lot of soldiers around.

I quickly spotted what I was looking for - a narrow passage between two high cliffs, which Wei soldiers were spilling out of. Moving forward again, I absentmindedly killed a soldier who tried to sneak up on me and kicked another one in the groin, my eyes fixed on the Wei major who was guarding the passage. I was within twenty metres of the man when a messenger ran up, quickly catching my attention.

"The Wei General Zhang Liao has destroyed Xiao Shi bridge! Lord Sun Quan is trapped!"

I hesitated - Zhang Liao was a very tough opponent - but I knew that Ling Tong was stationed around there. Annoying little git that he was, he could fight well, using his unnatural speed and flexibility to gain the upper hand. Besides, the nearest bridge to where Quan was trapped was further on. It would be best all round if we pressed on as planned.

As the messenger ran off, I turned back to the fray to see that there were noticably less Wei soldiers left. I quickly spotted the major guarding the passage again, and ran forward. When I reached him I swung at his jugular with my blade, but he blocked it, taking a quick swipe at me as I struggled to keep my guard up. I dodged it more by luck than anything else, and performed a snappy reverse turning kick that knocked him off his feet. Before he could get up, I plunged my blade up to the hilt into his chest. His dying scream reverberated around the small clearing as I withdrew my blade, signalling for a nearby group of men to close off the passage for good.

As they set to work, I straightened up and glanced around. There was another Wei base looming on the horizon, and _this_ one looked to have archers on the walls. I hissed under my breath, and set off at a flat run towards the firmly locked gates. As I arrived, I slowed only to whip around and plant a kick in the temple of a soldier who stood too close for comfort. As he crumpled, another soldier shoved his blade in my face, making me stumble slightly as I jumped back to avoid it, but I quickly recovered, slashing at his jugular with my wrist blade.

The gates soon swung open, and I ran inside, along with some of my soldiers. The Wei soldiers span around to face us, but the first few didn't manage to get their shields up in time to stop me taking them out.

I backed off as the remainder began to circle me. I knew it was better to wait for an opening and time it right, rather than tire myself out attacking their shields, but I quickly grew impatient. After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only ten seconds, the base leader lunged at me with his forked spear. However, his defensive training made countering easy. Before his weapon had reached the fulcrum of its thrust, my elbow had smashed into his windpipe, crushing it.

The man dropped both his weapon and shield and fell to his knees, clawing at his throat and making strange choking noises. It was just as unpleasant to view that death as to experience it, so I turned to the rest of the soldiers, my fists balled at my sides, underneath the wrist blades. With the death of their leader, they seemed helpless, making it all the easier for me to pick them off one by one using my blades and feet, plus a few less orthodox moves.

No sooner had the last man crumpled at my feet than another messenger ran up to me.

"Lord Sun Quan has successfully jumped the bridge on his horse! Zhang Liao has retreated!" he said, panting slightly, before plunging on to the next general. I nodded to myself, and motioned my soldiers to follow me ever closer to where Cao Cao stood.

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**A/N:** My god, that took forever to post. Interesting fact: The guy who I replaced with Su Zhi in that battle was actually called something like Zu Zhi. Who'da thunk it? (No, I didn't intend for that to happen, but it's pretty ironic, don't you think?)

Anyway, whatever. Please review! Hopefully, the next chapter should be up sooner than this one was.


	7. Trial and Error

**A/N: **Thanks to rothek the theif (learn to spell, Ninj!), Beautihul Miko, kyanrato, XXTakaraXX, HydroMaster9910, shyangel06, cute-stack-twin, and Yan Yan for comments and what have you. Here's the next chapter at last, sorry for the long paragraphs, but I hope you all enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:** To be honest, I'm not entirely sure why I'm still doing these. Call it a quirk of mine. I only own Su Zhi, yadda yadda, happy?

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As soon as we left the base, however, a huge crowd of Wei soldiers enveloped us. I hung back a slight distance from the crowd - there was way too many of them to be taken down with my normal moves. I was going to have to break out some of my more _interesting_ moves, and show everyone why I'd been ranked as a general.

I concentrated, flicking my wrist blades back into their sheaths, and pulling my Clackers from my neck. I lurked at the edge of the melee, waiting and watching for my moment -

- And it came soon enough. I ran into a chance opening in the crowd, leaped into the air, did a perfect back flip, and punched the ground as I landed, sending a fiery shock-wave through the surrounding Wei soldiers. Most of them collapsed instantly, giving my soldiers some breathing space to pick off some more in as I straightened up again and flexed my hand reflectively.

I flicked my blades out after securing my Clackers around my neck again. Now that the crowd was thinner, I could see an enemy general, fighting off my soldiers with apparent ease. I didn't recognise him, but he was no Zhang Liao - he didn't look like he'd give me much trouble. I darted through the crowd until I reached him, and caught him on his blind side as he killed one of my majors.

He cried out as the blade cut into his arm but somehow managed to parry my next attack, forcing me back slightly. I blocked his next wild overhead strike with my blades, then launched into a quick combination of front kicks, side kicks, and back fists before ending on an axe kick, which stunned him temporarily.

I backed off as he recovered, considering my next move, and we began to circle each other, both waiting for the other to drop their guard.

"I, Li Dian, say you shall not get any further than this!" he cried, as the blood dripping from his arm slowly turned his blue clothes purple.

"Yeah? Well, the name's Su Zhi, and I don't plan on retreating anytime soon!" I shot back, grinning.

I feinted to the left, but he didn't fall for it. I didn't dare give him an opening - pain was the last thing I wanted at the minute. I feinted again, but he still stoically held his guard, warily watching me through bright eyes. I grunted - I could keep this up for as long as he could.

However, it was only a minute or so before a rather unwelcome guest arrived. I was facing a nearby passage at the time, and upon seeing a horse appear in my peripheral vision, I quickly glanced up to see who else I had to deal with.

Li Dian, sensing that this was his chance, darted towards me, and I was forced to ignore the newcomer, but I already knew just who it was. I could see that this was going to get interesting - I had no trouble taking on these two separately, but both this guy _and_ Zhang Liao? I was royally screwed.

I didn't have time to finish off the general I was fighting - Liao was already heading in my direction - so I jumped into the air and whipped my blades around me so fast that it span me completely around, sending a wave of energy at Liao in the process. It knocked him off his horse, but he quickly somersaulted upright and continued towards me. I swallowed nervously, and braced myself for one of the toughest fights I'd ever been in.

As son as Liao reached me, he launched into his trademark move, swinging his halberd back before bellowing furiously, dashing forward, and spinning his weapon in front of him. I somehow managed to block his main attack, but then the other general decided to join in, his sword already on the down stroke. I thrust my blade upwards and felt his glance off mine, but he then turned it into a quick upthrust. I jumped to the side, away from his attack, but then gasped as a searing line of pain appeared on my back. I span around, somehow keeping it together as the corners of my eyes began to prickle from the stinging, to see Liao wearing a somewhat triumphant look - an obscene smirk at my pain. I growled. If I was going down, I'd do so fighting.

I launched myself at him, swinging my blades at his face in between butterfly kicks and _bandals_. He was forced backwards, blocking all the way, by my onslaught, but just as I performed the final jump kick, the hilt of a sword slammed into my temple. I was thrown off my feet and to the ground, rolling to a stop on my back - the blow had stunned me temporarily - but I found myself ignoring the pain from my head and back, and focusing entirely on the blade of Liao's weapon. Blood glistened along its edge as he lowered it, and it drew closer at what seemed like a snails pace...

I finally managed to tear my eyes away, squeezing them shut and turning my head in the other direction, hoping it would be over soon. I'd never even thought about dying - not like this... Questions flashed through my head. Was this really the end? What about the others - what about Ning? How would he take it? And Tong... Would I ever see Tong's eyes twinkling as he gave me his oh-so annoying smirk again...?

The blow never came. Instead, it was replaced with grunts of effort and pain. I tremulously opened my eyes, and turned my head to see what was happening, and there was Tong. _Tong. _He'd seemingly appeared out of nowhere, but he was holding Liao back with apparent ease. _Saving my life._ But why? We - neither of us cared for the other. We _didn't. _Everyone knew that.

Li Dian, who had stunned me earlier, was creeping up behind Tong, but he easily turned and dealt him a roundhouse kick to the head that sent him flying. I blinked. That's just what _I_ would have done in his position... He turned his attention back to Liao in time to clumsily block his attack. However, he even managed to turn this to his advantage, as he used Liao's hesitation to land a few solid blows with his nunchucks.

I tried to get to my feet as they fought on. Stars erupted in front of my eyes, but I forced myself upright. Willing the world to stop spinning around me, I gutted a couple of Wei soldiers who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, before turning back to the main fight. Tong was beginning to get the upper hand, but I could see that we'd both be in trouble if I didn't close off the passage that Liao had entered by.

Beheading another Wei soldier on the way, I tried to get close enough to kill the man who was keeping the passage open. My back was still intensely painful, but I did my best to ignore it as I reached my target. I was in no mood to mess about, so I performed a near perfect front-kick-side-kick-back-kick combination, finishing with a decisive chop to the throat that thrust my blade through both his jugular and windpipe.

I didn't have time to watch him die, though. I span around to see Tong deliver the final blow that sent Liao running. A blade whistled past my ear, reminding me that this was no place to be losing my focus and forcing me to make a clumsy dive to the other side. However, I quickly turned this to my advantage as I took the chance to twist into a turning kick before I hit the ground. An agonizing stab of pain from my back as I landed made me gasp, but I forced myself to get up and fight on, pushing my assailants back with a flurry of kicks, strikes, slashes, and swift smacks from my Clackers.

Somehow, I found myself in a tightening circle of soldiers. Backing away, I bumped into someone. I glanced over my shoulder and recognized them instantly.

"You really should be more careful, I'm not always gonna be around to stop you screwing up."

My already frayed temper flared at Tong's words.

"Like hell I need _you_ to save me," I hissed, before running at the soldiers in front of me, and performing a jumping spin attack which incapacitated several of them. However, I was forced back to the centre as more flowed into their recently vacated spaces.

"If that's the case, why was Liao about to kill you back there?"

"You know what? Shut up and go away!" I snapped over my shoulder.

"I'd love to, but I think this lot might disagree."

Just as I was about to retort, a messenger ran past.

"Zhang Liao has returned! He's to the west of the main camp!"

This time, it was Tong's turn to hiss. I grinned at his annoyance, but then he started muttering under his breath. I felt him tense up behind me, but was then distracted by a large wave of fire that passed harmlessly through me, and instantly incinerated the Wei soldiers surrounding us.

"Sorry, I've got to take that one," said Tong, as he launched into a run. I turned and blinked at his back, before shaking my head, and helping one of my sub-generals, Chen Wu, take down a nearby base, being careful of my sore back.

A few minutes later, I straightened up from putting a match to one of the inner towers of the defeated base, and strode out the other side. I passed between several little knots of fighting on the other side - all of them being won by my soldiers - and strode between the buildings towards the castle where Cao Cao was taking refuge - until something caught my eye. I grinned, even though my back was still throbbing with pure agony.

Ahead of me, one Wei soldier nudged another, before pointing to an apparently abandoned ship.

"Hey, is that one of ours?"

A faint tinkle of bells suddenly became much more obvious, and a figure dashed off the aforementioned ship, finishing off the two soldiers with two swift blows. Straightening up, the man gestured to the rest of his army, who had been hiding on board. My grin became even wider as I ran over to him. Gan Ning had just landed.

"Hey, Su! Hope I'm not too late," he said as he saw me.

"Xiahou Dun and Huang Xu have arrived as reinforcements for the Wei army! More units are on their way!" shouted a messenger as he ran past.

I caught Ning's eye.

"Doesn't really look that way."

"You take Dun, I'll take Xu?"

"Okay. See you in the castle!"

I ran back off the way I'd come as Ning gave his army instructions. I'd have to be careful around Dun - an arrow in the eye had only provided him with a tasty skewered snack, and he had way more experience on the battlefield than me. Plus, while he wasn't quite as tough as Liao, the pain in my back was as apparent as ever, and I was beginning to get worn out from the fighting.

As I ran through the first base I had taken out, which was still smouldering gently, I saw a figure on horseback attacking someone who was expertly blocking. I sped up, recognizing the man on the horse as Xiahou Dun, and the man who was blocking as the second of my sub-generals, Zhu Ran. Leaping off a convenient rock, I performed a flying side kick, which caught Dun on his (rather large) blind side and knocked him off his horse. However, before I had even landed, he had flipped upright again, apparently unharmed.

"Ha!" He barked. "Do you think you can withstand the might of Xiahou Dun?"

I put my head on one side and my hands on my hips in mock concentration.

"Yep. Reckon I can."

Dun merely barked out a laugh again, before suddenly charging me. I managed to get my blades up to block just in time, but the force of his attack still made me slide back a few feet. I gritted my teeth at a stab of pain which knifed through my back, but pulled myself into a quick fighting stance before launching into some of my best moves.

My normal front/back/side combo was quickly followed by a couple of quick swipes from my blades, and the ensuing butterfly kick was upstaged by a back flip, which resulted in a wave of light energy speeding towards the one-eyed general. Having blocked my last few attacks, the wave of light threw him off his feet, but even after all of that, he was able to flip upright again. He even got in one of his own attacks before he landed.

I dodged him more by luck than anything else, and we circled each other, both looking for an opening, and both panting slightly from the recent exertion.

"I see you have some skill on the battlefield," Dun said, holding his scimitar in front of him with both hands.

"You're not doing to badly yourself," I replied, without breaking eye contact.

"Skilled you may be, but I will not allow you to crush Cao Cao's dream!"

Dun suddenly darted forward, weapon raised and a look of fierce concentration on his face. I dodged his first attack, blocked his second, and managed to get an attack of my own in before the third. However, the lunge I made threw me open to Dun's blade. Before I knew it, a red hot line of agony was burning on the back of my shin, and I cried out in shock and pain.

Dun backed off, and I straightened up, wincing. I raised my gaze to his face, saw his smug contempt, and felt something inside me gently snap into place.

I flicked my blades back into their sheaths and swung my Clackers from around my neck in one smooth move. I was completely focused on Dun, now - it was like I was looking down from a higher plane created by exhaustion, determination, and adrenaline, and nothing could stop me. He backed away as I advanced, all traces of pain and fear seemingly erased by the sheer pent up force of my rage, and launched into my most complicated routine.

It began with a flurry of strikes from my Clackers, and was quickly followed by a 360 jump kick. Dun was somehow caught completely off guard by my attack, and was knocked off his feet. Before he could even land, I got him with a series of _bandals_, followed by a tricky little attack which had taken me weeks to master, but which resulted in Dun crying out in pain as my Clackers made crushing contact with his chest.

He fell to the floor, winded and in considerable pain. I waited for him to stand and attack me again. When he didn't, I turned sharply on my heel in the direction of Cao Cao. This battle wouldn't last much longer if I had anything to do with it.

I was making my way west again when Cao Hong turned up with reinforcements. I stopped, and turned to face them - tired, in pain, but enraged enough that it didn't matter.

Turning to face them, I stood where I was, concentrating. My Clackers dangled limply from my right hand, and I swung them gently as a soft breeze ruffled my hair. Hong and his troops had seen me by now, and were advancing with some caution, but I ignored them. I held my ground, staring at a patch of ground about 10 meters away, waiting for the right moment.

Hong's horse edged its hoof into my line of vision, and I thrust both hands out in front of me, holding the Clackers by their ends. I let one end drop as Hong hesitated, and pinched the string exactly between the two balls in a vice-like grip. I brought my other hand up to my face, and concentrated.

Two bounces, two strange crashes that were louder than physics should have allowed, and I began to make the balls crash into each other, once above my hand, once below, and repeating. With every noisy connection, a bigger and bigger flame grew from the centre of the string. I went faster, Hong's men still mindlessly approaching from all sides, and the flame grew to an enormous size before I suddenly slammed them, full force, into the ground.

A simply humongous shock-wave of fire spread from around me. Had I not been so completely focused on the battle, I would probably have stood and stared at the power of my attack. However, I simply picked up my Clackers again, ignoring the burnt corpses (I hadn't harmed the horse. It wasn't its fault it had been dragged into battle.), and walked away from Hong, who was trying to make a hasty retreat.

As I drew closer to where Cao Cao stood, however, my energy began to drain away. My back and leg slowly became agonizing again, my confident stride turned to a stubborn limp. I was bone weary and badly injured, but my usual determination wouldn't let me quit just yet.

I entered the castle where Wei was camped. Gan Ning's soldiers were already taking on Cao Cao's army, with varying degrees of success, but I ignored them all, focusing entirely on the regal figure on horseback who was stationed in the far corner of the building. I limped past knots of fighting with a determination I was coming to dislike, absolutely and entirely focused on that one man. My Clackers dangled limply from my hand, and I twitched them gently as Cao Cao turned to face me. I held his cold gaze as I limped closer, only stopping when I was ten feet from his horse.

"What's the matter? Did you come so far just to discover you didn't plan ahead?" he purred maliciously.

I stared at him blankly, too tired to act on the spark of annoyance at his words. No, I didn't know what I was going to do now, but in battle, it was impossible to plan ahead. Cao Cao smirked at my tired silence.

"Oh dear, you're stuck so very far from your allies with no idea of what to do... Did you honestly think you could hope to beat me?" he purred, before his tone changed, and he hissed, "Better just run to your friends before I lose my temper and split your head in two!"

I blinked, swaying slightly as I stood in front of him. Much to my annoyance, I could see the sense in his words. I was tired, injured, on my own in a stand-off with the enemy leader... what could _I_ do?

I gritted my teeth, and shook my head to clear those thoughts from my mind. No. That wasn't me thinking. That was Cao Cao's poisonous words seeping into my mind. _I_ had come this far - _me_. I could push myself a bit further, especially now I knew what to do. I raised my eyes to meet those of Cao Cao's again, a glint in my eye that hadn't been there a second before, pulled myself upright, and glared at him haughtily.

"You're right," I said quietly, "I didn't know what to do. But now, I have you to thank. You're an inspiration to us all, Cao Cao." I paused, savouring his twisted expression of hatred, before continuing. "Because you have massively underestimated me. Goodbye."

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**A/N: **My god, that was one hell of a chapter. Please, for the love of god, PLEASE review! I'm not going to post the next chapter until I get 10 reviews, so consider yourselves warned! And yes, I do accept anonymous reviews. See you in the next... interesting installment of Warrior of Art!


	8. Stubbornness

**A/N:** Hello, everyone, I'm back and ready to dole out another round of thankies to you wonderful people who reviewed, etc: (takes a deep breath) Black-HunterXX, kyanrato, Bladed Thesis, Beautihul Miko, HydroMaster9910, rothek the theif, XXTakaraXX, cute-stack-twin, thebladeofchaos, Gasanechi, shyangel06, and Chargone. Without all your support, I would probably have abandoned this story a while ago, so thank you for keeping me going!

I admit, I could have posted this a lot sooner (I got 12 reviews, thanks to all of you lovely people) but I had quite a bit of trouble about halfway through writing chapter 10. But no fear! I'm off to Minorca from Mon 7th July to Fri 18th, which hopefully will give me more inspiration and time to write. On the other hand, I won't be able to reply to any of your comments until probably the 19th, so be patient!

Anyway, here's the next chapter before you all kill me (I do think that's one of my better cliffhangers, that one at the end of chapter 7), and, finally! the answer to the question, "Who Will Su Zhi Fall In Love With?" Read on (and then review, plzkthx)!

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Cao Cao went to strike me from his horse, but I had already sent him a lunge with one of my blades, temporarily restored to its normal place in my palm, that went in at stomach height. He cursed, but quickly jumped off his horse, issuing a small orb of ice that slowly drifted closer to me. I ignored it, focusing on pushing him into a corner, where I would have the advantage.

Behind me, the orb gently exploded. It hit me full force, a wave of pure ice energy that chilled me to the core, pushing me to my hands and knees and making me heave in shock. It was... horrible.

Above me, Cao Cao straightened up and walked closer. I was shivering madly and gulping in breath. If I had known how strong the deceptive attack would be, I would have retreated to a safe distance. Cao Cao laughed triumphantly.

"You should have taken my advice, you impudent whelp! But, no matter; for you, it will be over shortly."

I glared at him through the hair that had fallen across my face as I gasped, but then something behind him made me grin.

"Think… again…" I whispered, between breaths.

Cao Cao, sensing something was up, turned just as Gan Ning brought his blade down. Some minor piece of misfortune made Cao Cao instinctively raise his own sword, somehow deflecting the blow, but Ning was in no mood to be taken lightly.

Seeing him save my life – again – made me flash back to my first battle, and the first time I went head to head with Ling Tong. As my breath returned to me, I raced through all the other times we had exchanged blows, not always with our weapons. There were a lot more than I would willingly admit to. It all just seemed so stupid now - I didn't _hate_ Tong, and I never really had, it was just that something about him annoyed me to the point of wanting to hit something, usually Tong.

A particularly loud cry brought me back to the battle. Ning and Cao Cao dropped away from each other, Cao Cao holding his side and Ning nursing his sword arm, both glaring at each other. I had never seen Ning so intently focused on the fight - before now, it had almost seemed like he was thinking about something else while he just went through the motions. But then, movement in my peripheral vision made me look beyond Ning. He was so completely focused on the Wei Leader that he hadn't seen the minor Wei general sneaking up behind him, and now he was in even more danger – because of me.

I gritted my teeth, pulled myself to my feet amid an explosion of stars for the second time this battle, and launched myself at the man who was trying to sneak up on Ning, swinging my Clackers around my neck and flicking out my wrist blades.

Ning glanced around briefly to see who I was facing, but whipped back in time to see Cao Cao make a desperate bid at victory. As they struggled against each other, caught in a powerful weapons deadlock, my quarry finally realized that I was angling for him, and brought his blade up protectively. I lashed out with my foot and hit my mark, causing the unfortunate man to double over, an odd expression on his face as he instinctively reached for the source of pain… I booted him in the head, for extra safety.

I turned back just in time to see Cao Cao force Ning back out of the weapons deadlock. As Ning stumbled, a loose pebble made him trip, and he landed heavily on his back. I could see him grimacing as Cao Cao advanced, laughing triumphantly again. One word pushed itself to the forefront of my mind, past tired muscles screaming for attention and the distractions my fatigue was supplying...

…_No_…

I gritted my teeth, and pushed off at Cao Cao. There was _no way_ that I was going to back down now, not after everything I'd been through in the past couple of hours and certainly not when one of my friends was in danger. _One right move and the battle would be over..._ Still intent on his impeding victory, he didn't notice my last desperate move until it was much too late to do anything about it. I span around as I reached him to give my blades more force, one blade drawing a thin line of crimson on his neck, the other scoring a much deeper line on his back.

As if on cue, my own back began to throb with a renewed energy, and I stumbled as I landed, nearly falling over. As soon as I regained my balance, I whipped around, half expecting to see Cao Cao bearing down on me with a look of fury on his face. Instead, all I saw was Ning pull himself to his feet again, one arm dripping blood from a rather deep cut near his shoulder. I looked around, and saw Cao Cao's robes whip around the corner, as he retreated. I blinked. With Cao Cao gone, the battle was effectively over. After all of that fighting, all of that pain and suffering, it was over just like that - because of my one move. It was... surreal.

I didn't know what to think.

"That was one nice move, Su!"

I winced as Ning slapped me on the back, but didn't say anything. Cao Cao's retreat had broken the spell, and I could feel all the adrenalin drain away as I realized we were safe – for the time being, at least.

Ning peered at my face.

"You okay there?"

I blinked at him blankly, before the last of the adrenalin filtered away, and I gently collapsed into his arms.

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"…Taking her time waking up."

"Well, you saw how badly injured she was. And this was her first proper battle. She probably pushed herself too hard."

"Yeah, sounds like the sort of thing she'd do…"

The voices carried on in the background as I analyzed the situation. I was pretty certain I was about to wake up, even though I was afloat in a sea of darkness. Damn. Waking up meant embarrassment, pain, and, if you were unlucky, people being patronizing at you.

Oh well, may as well get it over with. Now, where would I be hurting again?

I remembered just as the pain returned. The voices around me cut off at my small groan, and I sighed internally. No faking lack of consciousness now…

I opened my eyes, and glanced around the room. I was lying on a bed in the corner of a tent, my leg and back bandaged up tightly. From the light levels, it was around half an hour past sunset – enough to see by, but just dark enough to get the candles out. So, what, I'd been out of it for two, two and a half hours? Hmm.

"Huh, so you woke up at last." came a voice from the other corner of the tent. I looked over to see Tong leaning against one of the main props, his arms crossed and his usual half-smirk on his face.

"You had us worried for a bit there," said Ning, from his chair at the foot of my bed.

"I just… overdid it, that's all."

Shang Xiang shot an I-told-you-so look in the direction of Tong, but I didn't pay it too much attention. I was busy watching Tong. There was something different about his expression that I couldn't quite place, and it was annoying me even more than the skinny general normally did.

"Whatever. I'll go tell Quan you're awake."

I was still watching him as he walked out of the tent. There was definitely some emotion there apart from his usual smirk, I was sure of it.

"He's relieved, you know. We all are. You've earned the place of honour with Quan at the minute, and Tong wants to congratulate you, if only you'd let him." said Shang Xiang quietly. "Also, to rub your face in the fact that he saved your life."

I looked at her with one eyebrow raised questioningly, momentarily distracted from Tong.

"What do you mean, _place of honour_?"

Shang Xiang laughed at my confused expression.

"You beat Cao Cao. You soldiered on, even after you were nearly killed by Zhang Liao. You looked out for your soldiers, and even went back after Xiahou Dun turned up. Everyone's singing your praises at the minute. You should enjoy it while it lasts."

"I just did what any general would do," I said, slightly confused.

"Believe me, most generals are cowards. They'd have retreated at the first sign of Liao, and they know it. Plus, you're only 23. Think about it."

I took her advice, running the events of the battle through my head. Fire, Liao, pain, Tong, defence bases, Ning, Dun, more pain, anger, determination, Cao Cao, _fight_… Oh, yeah.

I turned to Ning.

"How's your arm?"

"That? Just a scratch."

I raised an eyebrow. I could clearly see the thick bandages on his arm, and the fact that the blood had seeped through to the top layer of the dressing, but I said nothing.

"What about you, anyway? Tong said he saw Liao give you that gash on your back, so did Dun get your leg?" Shang Xiang asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. There's two more scars to add to my growing collection, then. Am I allowed to sit up, or won't my back allow it?"

Shang Xiang sprang up to help me get into a more upright position, talking all the time.

"Well, the medic says to take it easy – no training for at least three weeks. Even if you don't somehow make your back worse, you aren't going anywhere on that leg. On the other hand, between Ning and me, you won't be getting anywhere near the training area, so just concentrate on getting better, okay?"

"Wow, I didn't realize my leg was that bad," I said, recalling the agony I had felt when Dun had caught me off guard.

"I'm glad to see you're looking better, Su."

I looked up to see a small crowd of people, including Sun Quan, Lu Meng, and Tong, enter the tent. I was kind of surprised to see Tong returning, but turned to Quan without showing it.

"I'm fine. I just pushed myself too hard."

"That's good to hear, but not what I saw when Gan Ning brought you back to the camp. How did you manage to get those injuries?"

I launched into a description of the battle, telling them more or less everything I had done, beginning with the arrival of Zhang Liao. As I spoke, I watched their expressions changing. Ning looked impressed, nodding in agreement when I reached the final battle. Shang Xiang winced when I described how Zhang Liao, Xiahou Dun, and Cao Cao had all caught me off guard. Lu Meng crossed his arms and shook his head in disbelief. Sun Quan looked thoroughly impressed. And Ling Tong…

Ling Tong had his arms crossed anyway, and his expression never once changed. He just stood at the back and smirked his usual smug smirk. It annoyed me to no end.

"…Then Cao Cao retreated, and I collapsed, more or less."

"Well, I'm impressed. It's because of your hard work and determination that we won this battle, and I thank you for it." Quan said, before half-turning to address everyone who had crowded into the tent. "We stay in the area for three more days to make sure Wei have fully retreated, then we leave for Jiang Dong. In the meantime, "he said, turning back to me, "I suggest you rest up. You've done well."

Everyone except Shang Xiang and Ning left the tent. Tong was the last to go, and he hesitated as though he wanted to say something, but he must have decided against it as he left without a word. He was definitely acting strange, and I wanted to know why.

"You say you hate him, but you can't take your eyes off him." said Shang Xiang quietly.

I blinked, before turning to Shang Xiang.

"What? I _do_ hate him! And I wasn't staring at him. He was... just... where I was looking."

Shang Xiang and Ning shared a knowing look. I knew that they weren't going to let up on this now, but, honestly, me and _Tong_? Urgh.

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The next few days were uneventful, and the journey back to Jiang Dong Palace, even more so. Everyone kept on showering me with compliments, but that quickly got tiring. I was never really one for sitting around all day, but, true to their word, between Ning and Shang Xiang I never got beyond the corridor outside of my room. I knew they were just looking out for me, but I was so completely and utterly bored out of my mind that I began to wish they'd stop caring so much. I almost found myself wishing that Tong was around - anything to give me something to do.

Two weeks after the battle, however, I got my chance. Ning was training - either that, or eating; Shang Xiang had been called to Sun Quan's study, and there was absolutely nobody to stop me doing as I liked. I was still only able to limp, and my back twinged at sudden twisting movements, but I didn't care. I was finally free to go and _do_ something, instead of being cooped up in my room all the time.

It didn't take me long to get ready. I had, after all, only been subconsciously planning for this day since we arrived back at the Palace. It was the work of a minute to get dressed, drag a brush through my hair, sling my Clackers round my neck, check I looked alright in the mirror, and slip out the door. I lurked in the shadow of a rather large vase to check the coast was clear, then made a break for the end of the corridor, my progress hampered somewhat by my sore leg.

Some minor miracle allowed me to reach the end without being seen, and, after a quick glance around, I scuttled into a narrow passage that would eventually deliver me to the entrance hall, from where getting outside would be easy.

It was rather dark in the little passage, but I preferred to stick to the shadows anyway in my current situation. It didn't take me as long as I thought it would to arrive at the entrance hall, and a quick glance around told me that the place was unusually deserted for this time of day. Confident of my escape, I walked into the open area, the prospect of training more than enough to cheer me up.

"Going somewhere?"

I stopped dead. Damn, seen before I'd even reached the fresh air, and by _him_?

"Wouldn't want you going and hurting yourself, now, would we?" said Tong as I turned around - slowly, so as not to agitate my back more. He was leaning against the wall by the end of my little corridor, arms crossed and his smirk a little more amused than usual.

"Why do you care if I'm going somewhere?" I asked aggressively.

"Shang Xiang would kill me if you left the building," said Tong, raising his hands defensively. "'Sides, do you honestly think you're in any shape to go anywhere?"

"I _do_, actually! I'm sick and tired of being cooped up in my room all day. I'm going out!"

I turned to leave, but he was suddenly there, blocking my path.

"I don't think you get it. I can't let you go outside, end of story.."

I snorted.

"God, just when I think you can't get any more annoying, you go and prove me wrong."

"If anything, _you're_ the annoying one. Why don't you just go back to your room?"

"Because I'm bored out of my mind!"

I tried to step around him, but whatever I did, he wouldn't let me past. Outside, a cloud drifted over the sun, echoing my mood. After a few unsuccessful minutes trying to side-step Tong, I made an irritated noise in the back of my throat.

"Let me past!"

"No!"

"I'm _not_ going back to my room!"

"Well there's no way you're going outside, either!"

"I am _this close_," I measured out a tiny distance between my thumb and forefinger, "to losing my temper. For the last time, _let me past_!"

"You're not getting past! Why can't you just accept that! I'm not about to suddenly step aside and let you go and hurt yourself! You're just so stubborn and annoying, and - and you don't think about consequences or anyone else but yourself, and even if you tried I bet you'd miss all the signs, and you're too stuck up to take advice or accept help in battle or an apology and - and - even with all that, I love you!"

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**A/N: **(Insert evil cackle here) Oh my god, it was quite a journey, but we finally got there! Say hello to the random idea that spawned this story in my head. It's one hell of a story to come from that, but that's what happened. Like I said, I'm going to be in Minorca from the 7th to the 18th, but all that means is you can surprise me with a lovely bundle of comments (hint hint). I'll see you all when I get back. Toodles!


	9. Realisation

**A/N:** (I know this is horrendously later than it should be, but I'm finally back in the loop, so here's the next chapter.) My god, did I laugh when I saw some of your reviews! I had a fabulous holiday (apart from the Tonsillitis and the fortnight after when I couldn't eat properly), and they just topped it off.

My thankies and love to all of these wonderful people: thebladeofchaos (glad you liked it!), HydroMaster9910 (or whatever you're calling yourself these days - and I checked, I did mention you at the top of chapter 7), Rothek The Thief (spelling your name right today, I see), duckmasta2020 (who I utterly confundled), Beautihul Miko (thanks for all the constructive criticism!), Chargone (the last chapter wasn't perfect, but thanks for bearing with me!), XXTakaraXX (I can always count on a review from you!), shyangel06 (I love your enthusiasm!), kyanrato (another regular who inspires me to carry on), clogz (new to the story, but I think I'm going to see a lot more of you), cute-stack-twin (I think your review made me laugh the most), A Reviewer (anonymous, but with a review like that, I don't care) and Gasanechi (I guess the story sparked for you!).

As per usual, if I forgot to mention you, just message me and I'll set it straight next chapter. Anyway, enough about last chapter - let the new one begin! (Hopefully this should clear things up a bit.)

**Disclaimer: **You wouldn't sue me. You love this story too much. Admit it.

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I opened my mouth to retort angrily, but stopped dead. What? No, he couldn't have just said what I thought he said. It just wasn't possible - I - he - we'd never really cared for the other... right?

Tong seemed to realise what he'd just said, because a look of panic crossed his face, and he sought desperately for something to say.

"Oh - I, uh, I mean - no... well - er..."

After gaping fruitlessly for a bit, he evidently gave up, and ran away. I watched him go, still waiting for the world to make sense again, before giving up and heading back to my room. Seriously, after something as massive as what I think I just heard, how could I think about trying to escape? It was... just... wow. I mean, I obviously still didn't care for him - I _didn't -_ but it was just a shock to hear _that_, or even to contemplate it.

I reached my room without meeting anyone on the way and sank onto my bed, still quite shocked, and deep in thought. I mean, I _didn't_ care for him. Definitely. No doubt about it. Except...

Except, I couldn't deny a little flicker of hope when what he said had sunk in, or when he'd tried to apologise, or when he'd saved my life during the battle. Or the fact that I couldn't think of a single day since I had seen him at Xia Kou when I hadn't thought about him in some context or other, and the way that I missed having him around after a couple of days apart. Or that I felt a shiver run through my skin every time he touched me, or that he always annoyed me more than anyone else I had ever met in my short but eventful life, or the fact that ever since I'd met him I couldn't even look at him, much less be near him, without feeling a huge sense of irritation that he wasn't being who I wanted him to be and who I _knew_ he could be...

Oh, god. Oh, dear god, please, _no_. This wasn't possible, I wasn't supposed to care for him, much less... ugh... feel the same way as he did... not _love him back... _How was that possible? It was the only thing I could think of that would explain all the clues, the only solution that was suddenly so obvious that it couldn't be anything else, but it still didn't make _sense_; he annoyed me because, because he was _annoying_, not because I loved him but thought that he'd never feel the same way... Love isn't supposed to be _that_ cliched... How could this have happened?

"You're still in here, right?" said Ning, appearing at the door with a blank expression on his face.

I didn't trust myself to reply in any sensible way. I was kind of part horrified, part traumatised, and part _relieved_, which was... strange. Why was I relieved to find out that everything I had ever assumed about my feelings for Ling Tong were wrong?

Ning walked further into my room.

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I... he - Tong - said... he - I... what?"

Ning apparently understood what I was babbling about, which was more than I did.

"Heh, he finally admitted it, did he?"

I nodded mutely, not bothering to wonder how he knew. I wouldn't have been surprised if I was the last person to figure it out.

"...That's... not all... I think I - he - we..."

Ning clapped me on the back in understanding, inadvertently making me wince as he caught the sore part.

"Glad to see you working it out at last, Su."

"... Everyone else knows about us, don't they."

"Pretty much. It's not exactly hard to miss when you know what to look for. You both can't stop watching the other when you're in the same room, you never stop talking about how annoying you find the other-"

"- _He_ found _me_ annoying?-"

"- and the way you argue like an old married couple is a dead giveaway. So, how'd he tell you?"

I hesitated. Even in my state of shock, I knew that Ning wouldn't be too happy if he found out I had tried to go training, but I did want to tell him and get his opinion on what to do next.

"I... went for a walk -"

"- You tried to go training-"

"- and I met him..."

I went over the whole thing again, uncovering details I didn't even know I'd noticed. It still seemed fundamentally wrong to know that the guy who less than an hour ago had been the person you least wanted to see was now the person who you wanted to be with. In fact, prior to this, the only time that 'love' and 'Tong' had appeared in the same sentence was when I was thinking, 'Oh, how I would love to wipe that smirk off Tong's face...'

"... And then you came in." I finished.

Ning raised an eyebrow.

"So, let me guess, you want my advice now on what to do, me being a man and all."

I nodded.

"Well, if that was me, I'd what to know how much of an idiot I'd just made of myself. In the meantime, I'd lie low, just in case I got a load of stick for it. But, Tong? Give him a few days. He'll have sorted out his own mind by then - he's probably just as shocked as you are right now. I'm almost certain that he hadn't worked it out for himself up 'till he blurted it to you. But it's up to you."

I blinked. From my frazzled point of view, that 'advice' was about as useful as a paper shield and without the handle, but I wasn't about to say that to my best friend's face. No, forget Tong - _I_ was the one who needed a few days to get my head around this.

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It took me just over a week to figure out what I was going to do, and to summon the courage to do it. It was strange - I'd faced down huge armies and obstacles to get where I was today, but I was terrified of what this one man could do to me. My only consolation was that the medics had told me I could resume some light training - needless to say, the dummies in the training arena were now looking considerably more ragged as I vented my frustrations on them.

I had just finished for the day, as it was, and was going to put my weapons away when I saw my chance. Through the trees, I saw a skinny figure slip towards the nearby lake - a figure I instantly recognised as Tong. I turned away from the treeline for only a second, my heart fluttering slightly, but when I turned back again, nothing was moving.

This alone was nothing near enough to deter me, though. My heart pounding at the thought of what I was about to do, I walked silently into the woodland, keeping my eyes open for movement. I was soon rewarded by a sudden flicker, about 100 metres to my right. I kept on quietly tracking Tong, who seemed oblivious to my presence, until the trees began to peter out and there was the lake in front of us.

The lake was quite small - only 50 meters long by 200 meters wide. It was completely natural, and, for some unfathomable reason, a small wooden jetty had been built which hung just over 10 meters out over the water. There were never any boats here, but Shang Xiang had apparently spent a lot of time here learning to swim and dive as a child. I'd only ever been down here twice before, but the place was memorable for its tranquility.

The picturesque hues in the sky from the setting sun reflected flawlessly on the water, but it was only a background detail to me. Tong had stopped at the end of the jetty. I quietly walked to the edge of the wooded area, then to the beginning of the wooden structure. From behind, Tong looked quite morose, his usual lively stance hunched over and glum. Even though just a week ago the thought of physical contact was enough to make me twitch in dislike, I was suddenly struck with the urge to embrace him. Wow. How long had I been repressing that urge without knowing it?

"So, are you just going to stand there all day, or what?"

I started. How long had Tong, who was still facing out over the water, known I was there?

"I just... had to talk to you." I said, taking a step closer.

Tong finally turned around, and I saw just how much he was dreading this encounter. His expression was guarded, but just in the fact that I couldn't see a hint of his usual smirk I knew exactly what was going through his mind. He had basically handed himself to me on a silver platter - he was completely at my mercy. What I said now could make or break him, and he was just as terrified of what I might do to him as I was about him.

"Well?"

"What you said last week - I - you - I think..."

Damnit! Why was I stuttering? It shouldn't be so hard to say what I had to say to him, surely? I could see that Tong was getting suspicious. I took a deep breath, and tried again, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Last week... it made me realise that... well, I never really _hated_ you, but now... now I - I - I think..."

I could see the understanding dawning on Tong's face, which I was grateful for. It meant that I could stop blathering on like an idiot, but it also meant that his guarded expression was melting away into the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen.

"You - you mean -"

"Yeah."

I took another step toward him, and, before I knew it, our lips were meeting with bruising force. As the kiss deepened, I finally realised just how much I wanted him, _needed_ him to be near me. In the six and a half years I had known him, how had I managed to interpret that as hatred or dislike? How had it taken me so long to realise something that had taken everyone else a matter of weeks? It was beyond me.

We finally surfaced for air, but remained holding each other around the waist. It was just such a relief to know that I could finally acknowledge my feelings towards him for what they really were - it completely reinvigorated me.

"This feels so weird," I said, laughing and pulling away slightly so I could see his face better. "A week ago, everything was so - so different."

"The rest of Wu'll be happy we finally figured it out, at any rate."

"I imagine that some of them were getting bored of waiting for us to catch up."

"Hmm."

Tong smiled down at me (he had always been ever so slightly taller than me). We stood in that embrace for a few minutes, before a brief gust of wind reminded us of how late it was getting.

"We should probably head back in, huh?"

"Yeah."

I wound my arm around his waist as we set off, and he looped his arm around my shoulders. I just couldn't get out of my head how weird it was that I was so comfortable doing it. Before I knew - before I realised - how I felt, it was like even being nice to him simply wasn't an option. Now that I could look back on it, it was probably because I refused to let Tong penetrate the banner I had put up to deal with his annoyance. Of course, with our first impressions of each other being as they were, that was probably inevitable.

"You're awfully quiet."

I smiled up at my new found love interest.

"Should I be louder?"

"No, I like you just the way you are - scars and all."

The trees began to thin as we approached the castle again, and I smiled to myself as I remembered how annoyed I had been when Tong had brought up the subject of my scars previously.

"I'm so glad you let slip how you felt about me. I think I needed the shock to make me... rethink some things. Now I can see you properly, you don't look so bad."

"Oh, so you thought I was ugly before?" Tong looked down at me, and began to chuckle as I tried in vain to explain myself. "I know, I know... but, to be honest, I don't think I'd have realised either if I hadn't heard myself say it to you. I mean, I suspected it at times, but... that confirmed it. I'm happy now, anyway."

"Me too."

I grinned happily, and snuggled into his chest slightly. It was still light enough to see by the time we reached the main palace grounds, and we were wandering through one of the many ornamental gardens when we suddenly heard a loud cat call.

"Finally!"

I pulled away from Tong slightly, and turned to look behind me. Even though I could only see trees and shrubbery, I knew who it was.

"Alright, you two, where are you hiding?"

A giggling Shang Xiang dropped down lightly from a nearby tree, quickly followed by a rather loud thud from the shadows as Ning apparently fell out of his. I rolled my eyes as he staggered to his feet and stumbled towards us, swaying slightly. He was quite obviously smashed, and Shang Xiang didn't look any more sober.

"Took you two long enough to figure it out!" Ning slurred, leaning towards us as he slung his arm around Shang Xiang's shoulders.

"How much have you two had to drink tonight?" said Tong, grinning in amusement.

"What? We're not _drunk_," said Shang Xiang, taking mock offense. "We haven't drank enough to be _drunk_..."

"Whatever, just try and make sure you get some sleep soon. You're both going to be hung over tomorrow."

"We don't get _hung over_!" said Ning, swaying even more as we left for the palace. I looked at Tong, my arm still wrapped around his waist and his around my shoulders, and we shared a knowing glance. Those two were going to be so sore tomorrow, but at least they weren't angry drunks. I stole a glance over my shoulder as we rounded the corner, and thought I saw them share a drunken kiss. Well, that wouldn't be a first time for either of them, but I hoped they weren't going to do anything they'd regret in the morning.

"You hungry?" Tong asked me.

"A bit."

"Then shall we go grab some food?"

"Yeah, okay."

I knew that, at this time of the day, the large hall where everybody ate would be packed, but I had a shrewd suspicion that everyone would need to see for themselves that we'd finally realised what had taken them about a week to work out.

The room immediately fell silent as we entered, but them sporadic clapping broke out, somewhere near the back of the room. Everyone instantly joined in, and a wave of whoops and laughter swept across the room.

I glanced at Tong, and laughed at his bemused expression. I just felt so elated, even though a tiny part of me was still stubbornly insisting that this was wrong and weird. We made our way to a couple of spare seats near the table where Sun Quan was sat, between Lu Xun and the Qiao sisters. The clapping began to die down as we sat, and Xiao threw her arms around me.

"You're finally together!" she squealed. Beside her, Da smiled quietly in her seat, apparently amused by the whole thing. I embraced the younger sister back, and then turned back to Tong. The attention of the people in the room slowly began to drift back to the previous topics of conversation, as Tong and I helped ourselves to the spread of food in the middle of the table.

The cooks had really outdone themselves. The food was simply delicious, and I was soon reaching out for a second helping. I spotted a particularly appetising spring roll on a platter just in front and to the right of me, and I reached out to grab it, laying my finger on it at the same time as someone else. I followed the arm up to find Tong attached to the other end, and giggled.

"You have it," said Tong, pulling his hand away.

"No, you..."

This carried on for a minute or two before I had an idea. I deftly snatched up the spring roll and sliced it into two even halves. I then put one half on Tong's plate, before popping the other half into my mouth.

"There - solved!"

Tong chuckled.

"You're one of a kind," he said, smiling, before taking a bite out of his half of the roll.

The rest of the meal passed without further incident, and I was soon leaving the hall, with Tong in tow.

"It's still so early. What _are_ we going to do in that time?" I said, giving him a mischievous grin over my shoulder.

"Oh, I'm pretty certain we'll think of something," he said, grinning back.

We made it to one of the smaller ornamental gardens outside before I turned and caught Tong's lips with mine. One of my hands snaked up and deftly unpicked the strip of silk holding his hair in that ponytail, letting his dark hair flow down and over his shoulders. The other made its way down to his lower back as the kiss deepened, and we pulled each other closer, both of us trying to find and to give reassurance that this _was_ real.

I felt like I was soaring - I had never felt anything this intense for someone else before. This wasn't just some meaningless crush, based on looks alone - this really did feel like true love. I loved his silken tresses and lean figure. I loved his personality and his little habits. I loved his cool intelligence and sarcasm. _I loved him_.

The sky had been a quite deep blue when we had come out, but by the time we broke apart, it was a rich navy blue, dotted with little twinkling points of light. I stared up at the constellations in wonder, amazed at how much time had passed.

"How time flies when you're having fun," said Tong, smirking. I turned back to look at him, and smiled. A sudden breeze reminded me that it wasn't quite summer any more, and Ting chuckled lightly as I shivered.

"Guess we'd better head back in, hmm?"

"Do we have to? I'd much rather stay out here with you..."

Tong laughed again, and nuzzled my hair.

"Come on. I've got a surprise for you in my room."

We separated only briefly, so we could walk along, hand in hand, to Tong's room. I'd never been near there before, which was surprising for the fact that it was just down the other end of the corridor from mine. He held the door open for me, and I walked into a room that was... completely Tong.

"I did the best with what I had." said Tong modestly from behind me. I just stood and gawped at what the room contained.

Along one wall were several portraits of a man who looked quite like Tong - his father, I realised with a slight pang of randomised guilt. On another wall was a strange device that served to hold several pairs of nunchucks - which ranged through all colours and materials. A third wall was dominated by a window, and the fourth made inaccessible by the bed and chest of drawers that were pushed up against it.

Tong walked past me, and got down on his hands and knees to rummage under the bed. I walked further into the room as he straightened up again, and raised an eyebrow at what he had found.

"You haven't left my sights since we had our little meeting by the lake. Since when have you found the need to have what looks like a jug of _sake_ and two beakers under your bed?"

Tong gave me a cheeky smirk before pouring some of the liquid into one of the beakers and handing it over. I took it, before cautiously sniffing at the contents. Definitely _sake_. Before now, I'd never really taken a liking to it, but there was a first time for everything, I suppose.

Tong held up his beaker.

"To us!"

I joined him in the toast, before knocking back my drink in one go. Then, wasting no more time, I locked lips with him. This was definitely something I could develop a taste for.

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**A/N: **OH MY GOD, IT'S FINALLY TYPED UP! And I really do promise that I will post the next chapter sooner than I did this one, for fear that you'll hunt me down and lynch me. Oh, and the part where Ning fell out of the tree was an idea that I came up with with my friend.

Same as the last two chapters - I'd like at least 10 reviews before I post the next chapter, but I know you won't let me down! And now I'm off... for sleep... (if there are any typos it's because I'm tired) (**EDIT:**I hope it isn't as hideous a transition from hating to loving as it was before now!**/EDIT.**)


	10. Challenges

** A/N: **I'm back, even if my computer did completely die on me... and I'm happy!

Why, you ask? Well, for one thing, I'm happy that so many of you take the time and effort to read and review my story - many people don't, but there are those of you who take the time to do it, and I love you all! And the second is that, with my computer being off limits, I've been able to write more of my story, and I have finally written so much that I have reached the second notebook.

That's right. This story is currently 2 notebooks, 263 pages, and 13 chapters long, with more than 70 reviews and 2500 views! I'm so happy, so here's the next chapter for you.

**Disclaimer: **You all know the drill, I only own Su Zhi, and feel free to send me a virtual kick for the extreme corn that I've injected into this!

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I lay in the gentle haze of the still slightly drunk for all of half a minute, before the hangover quickly sobered me up. I winced, before cautiously opening my eyes. The light wasn't too bad, but the room itself confused me for a minute or two, before I remembered the events of last night. A smile spread across my face, and, as my eyes fell upon the room's other occupant, it split into a big grin.

Ling Tong, _my _Ling Tong, was still asleep in the chair across the room from where I lay on the bed. He'd be stiff when he woke up, but he had given up his comfort without a second thought, and for _me_. I quietly propped myself up on my elbows, and studied his face, a half smile on my lips still.

He looked so relaxed and calm. I didn't know what he was dreaming about but it certainly wasn't a nightmare. My gaze caressed his features as I listened to the sound of his breathing. My pounding hangover was forgotten in the face of this all-encompassing feeling of peace. It was... nice.

"You've really got to stop being so obvious when you're staring at me." Tong said, his eyes still closed.

I smiled.

"You've been staring right back for the last minute. I can always tell when people have their eyes open - especially you."

Tong opened his eyes fully, and flashed me an unashamed grin.

"What can I say, it's still weird to see you looking at me without glaring."

I winced slightly.

"Was I that bad?"

Tong nodded.

"You were. It kinda confused me as to why you hated me so much. That's why I wound you up so much..."

I opened my mouth to say something, but was cut off as my stomach rumbled. Tong chuckled.

"I suppose we can talk more over breakfast."

I nodded, and swung my legs out from under the covers. I was still fully dressed - in six years, my fashion sense hadn't changed much - although sleep had wrinkled my clothes. I stood up, received a warning stab of pain from my head, and began to smooth down the fabric. To my side, I heard a small creak as Tong shifted, and a louder groan as a hangover and several hours of uncomfortable sleep caught up with the skinny general. I smiled vaguely at the wall in front of me, then frowned as I looked around the room.

"You wouldn't happen to have a hairbrush?" I asked, turning to see Tong wince from trying to ease his stiff joints.

"Hmm? Yeah, top drawer in the dresser." he said, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and gesturing vaguely in my direction with the other. I turned to the drawer in question, and pulled it open. Inside, as said, was a small hairbrush, inlaid with streaks of silver. However, next to that...

It was a picture of me, but me when I first joined Wu. I guessed Tong had drawn it - he wasn't a bad artist, when all was said and done - but what took me aback most was how different I looked. Now, I was 23, taller, leaner; my hair was 3 inches short of my elbows when it was straight, and my clothes were predominantly red. Then... I was somehow misshapen, but not because of Tong's artwork. I looked just the same, but completely different.

"I'm amazed how much you've changed, too." said Tong quietly from behind me. "When I first met you - well, first met you off the battlefield - you just looked like some teenager who was in out of their depth. But now, you know everyone, and everyone knows you. You're probably infamous among Wei now, thanks to He Fei, and I'd be surprised if Liu Bei doesn't know who you are. You really have grown."

"As opposed to you, who hasn't changed at all," I said, turning to face him and grinning cheekily. "You know, you look absolutely terrible? Come here. You can't go down to breakfast looking like that."

Against his half-hearted protests, I made him sit down on the bed as I reached for the hairbrush.

"If I'd have known you'd have been like this, I'd have never let you sleep in that chair," I said, tutting mildly as I scraped his hair off his shoulders. It really was longer than it looked when it was up, reaching to just below his shoulders, and as I pulled the brush through his hair, it seemed to shimmer in the light from the window.

"You should have your hair down more often, you know."

"Yeah, but I prefer it up. It keeps it out of my face."

I smiled at the back of his head. Still as stubborn as ever, I thought as I laid the hairbrush aside. I turned back to Tong, and laid my hands on his shoulders. I worked slowly, using my thumbs to press into his pressure points and loosen up his muscles. Tong sighed in appreciation as I worked out a particularly stubborn knot in his shoulder.

As soon as I had finished, Tong turned around and pulled me into a kiss. When we surfaced, after only a few minutes this time, he placed his forehead against mine and chuckled softly.

"What would I do without you, eh? Come on, we'll be late for breakfast at this rate."

"Oh, sod breakfast, I'm sure we could have a lot more fun here..."

"No, we should head down. Besides, don't you want to see how hung over Ning is?"

I pouted in mock concentration, caught by the mental image of a bleary Ning.

"Oh, alright. But only because I'm getting peckish."

I followed Tong out of his room, and we walked hand in hand down to the dining hall. Quite a few heads turned as we entered, but most turned back to their food within a few seconds. Scanning the sea of heads, I soon spotted the extra-spiky one that could only belong to Ning, and, practically dragging Tong along behind me, I went and sat down opposite him.

"_Good_ morning! Look at that weather, isn't it just_ lovely_ today?"

Ning winced, possibly due to my exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Could you keep it down a bit, Su? I feel like an elephant kicked me in the head... ugh..."

"So, that thick skull of yours does have some feeling," Tong said sarcastically.

Ning glanced up from his plate at Tong for all of half a second. Then he looked up again, and looked from me to Tong, and back again.

"Heh, you _did_ hook up last night, then? I wasn't sure if I imagined it or not..."

"Nope, this is real." I said, glancing at Tong and smiling.

"Yeah, you should have seen how this lot reacted last night." said Tong, jerking his thumb in the direction of the majority of the rest of the diners.

"Not at the minute, thanks... Ugh, I should have stopped at the fifth jug..."

"You drank _five jugs_ of _sake_ last night? Are you mad?" I asked, crossing my arms and looking at him increduously across the table.

"Hey, five jugs I can handle," said Ning, putting his hands up defensively. "It was the other three that messed me up... ugh..."

"I'm amazed you can still walk this morning," said Tong as he demolished a spring roll. I chuckled lightly, and reached out for a plate of dim sum.

My decision on which one to take - they all looked delicious - was cut short, however, by Sun Quan standing up at the high table. The noise died down immediately, and every head in the room turned to look at the leader as he made his announcement.

"Due to our victory at He Fei, Wei has been crippled, and Shu has turned its attention to settling into a new territory. Now is the time to widen our boundaries and take advantage of this opportunity to establish our power.

"The only real threat to us at the moment comes from the Nan Zhong province, to the south. The Nanman tribe, lead by Meng Huo, is making suspicious movements northwards. I propose that, in order to preserve our safety, we work to neutralise this threat before it becomes too powerful to ward off. I want all the generals who will be available in two months to assemble in the War Room in one hour's time. Thank you."

He sat down, and I turned to Ning as the chatter began to grow again.

"Who are the Nanman when they're at home?"

"The Nanman? They live in the deep south of China, where it's a lot hotter. They're easy to spot in a crowd 'cause they tend to have dark skin and black hair. They also don't wear much more than necessary, what with the heat."

"Right. So we're going to be fighting half naked, dark skinned men with black hair?" I glanced around and lowered my voice before adding, "Sounds like Huang Gai."

"They can be a powerful enemy," said Tong from my side, ignoring my comment. "They use the terrain to their advantage, they've pretty much mastered fighting with spears, and rumour has it that they can train elephants and tigers for battle. Plus, they know a lot about poisons that we don't."

I looked from Tong to Ning and back again.

"Where did you guys pick up all this stuff?"

"Oh, here and there..." said Ning vaguely, looking down at his plate.

"Also, in a meeting we had about an hour after you kicked Cao Cao's arse. But that just served as confirmation more than anything else."

"Uh - huh. And you were planning on telling me this, _when_?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What with one thing and another, it... slipped from my mind..." Tong said, rather pointedly. I swatted him on the arm playfully, before reaching out and taking some dim sum. Sounded like this next battle was going to get interesting...

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

An hour later, me, Ning and Tong walked into the War Room to find a large map on the table, and ten or so generals stood around at varying degrees of attentiveness. Tong closed the door we had entered by firmly behind him, and we settled against one of the walls, waiting to receive our orders for this next battle.

We had been waiting only 5 minutes when the double doors at the other end of the room opened, and Sun Quan entered the room, closely followed by Zhou Tai and Lu Meng. Everyone else immediately focused on either the leader or on the map at the head of the table.

"Thank you for coming here on such short notice." said Quan. "As you all know, I plan to take advantage of this momentary peace to strengthen our defenses by removing a potential threat to our southern borders, the Nanman. Now, this will not be easy. We will be fighting on their land, in conditions that are far from desirable. There have been tales of them taming elephants and tigers, and using them to gain the upper hand in battle. On top of that, their sense of unity is said to be incredibly strong, but I believe that ours is stronger! I have every faith that each and every one of you will be able to overcome the difficulties that this battle represents, and show our enemy that their threats are of no concern to us.

"I will now hand over to Lu Meng. I'm sure he has several strategies prepared for us to use..."

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

Ten minutes after the meeting had finished, I was walking across one of the many fields surrounding the palace, with Ling Tong, Gan Ning, Sun Shang Xiang, and Lu Xun in tow. Reaching a tree that was particularly easy to climb, I jumped to grab one of the branches and swung up into the foliage.

"I'm not sure about the proposed placing of the troops. It seems a bit... thin to me." said Xun as he settled at the base of the tree. I turned from my friends, and dropped so that I was hanging from the sturdy branch by my knees.

"I know what you mean, but the river's too deep for any surprise attacks, and the main camp can only be entered via the bridge." I said, as my hair fell from around my face.

"But Quan was worried about those passages that flank the camp." said Shang Xiang as she joined me in the tree. "Anyone breaking through those walls -"

"- Would need something like an elephant to do it. All reports say that those walls are a good two meters thick all the way around, and the bases on those paths make it next to impossible to get anything that big through." said Tong, leaning against the tree trunk, facing me.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Ning, as he settled down against a convenient nearby rock. "Part of winning is knowing the conditions. They're used to the weather, and they know about the land. Plus, if they do break through to the main camp, they can just send in the tigers."

"We can handle tigers. Plus, from what I understand, elephants won't attack if they aren't being told to, so we just need to worry about the people riding them." I said.

"Well, yeah, but the thing is they're riding _elephants._"

"Oh, quit nit-picking."

We sat, or in my case, hung there for a while, until the blood rushing to my head gave me a dizzy spell. I dropped to the ground, staggering slightly as I waited for my balance to return, but my action seemed to break the spell, and everyone looked up, glancing to see the time.

"I'd better head back in. I want to do some research into Nanman tactics." said Xun, standing up and shaking his head lightly, before heading off toward the palace.

Tong launched himself off the tree trunk, and slipped his arms around my waist. Shang Xiang dropped down beside me, before sidling over to Ning.

"Hey, Ning, I wanted to show you something..."

"Huh? What is it?"

I was too preoccupied with Tong to see, but I'm guessing that some not-so-subtle gestures were used, because Ning twigged rather sooner than would otherwise have been the case.

"Oh! Oh, yeah, let's... uh... go... have a look..."

"I was wondering how long you'd last." said Tong quietly once Ning and Shang Xiang were out of earshot.

"Unfortunately, hanging from my knees, upside down, with all the blood rushing to my head, does nothing for my sense of balance." I replied, giving him a cheeky grin.

He chuckled, and raised a hand to my face.

"What am I going to do with you?" he said quietly, a smile playing on his lips.

"Oh, I'm sure you can come up with something..."

We were interrupted five minutes later by a slightly breathless messenger. I pushed gently away from Tong, and we both turned to the man as he approached.

"Lord Ling Tong! Lord Sun Quan wishes to speak to you about the upcoming battle! He says it's urgent!" he said as he came to a halt. Tong and me shared a confused look.

"Go on, you'd better go and see what he needs you for..." I said, sighing.

"Alright. If I'm not back in half an hour, I'll meet you in your room." he said, giving me a peck on the cheek before setting off for the castle. I sighed. It looked as though this was going to be another complicated battle...

* * *

**A/N:** I've now officially typed up over 200 pages of story (201, to be exact), as well as the shortest amount of text between line breaks in the story! But now I have to be offski to do homework. Toodles!

(Oh, and if there are more mistakes than usual, it's because I didn't read it through like I normally do. Sorry!)(**EDIT: **I actually had to edit this chapter because the typos were annoying me so much. There were _13_ typos. _Thirteen._ And I also made 4 other edits to help the flow... **/EDIT**)


	11. Bad Distractions

** A/N: **I can't be bothered to wait for an advance on 4 reviews on chapter 10, but my thanks go to thebladeofchaos, Rothek the thief, Bladed Thesis, and shyangel06. Thanks for reviewing!

Right, onto the next chapter. I don't really have much to say about it, so here it is, please enjoy it. Oh, and I wrote most of this chapter when I had tonsillitis, so it might be a bit... strange. Sorry!

**Disclaimer: **I own not even speakers! But I do own Su Zhi and the plot. Fner.

* * *

Half an hour passed with no sign of Tong, and I sighed before heading inside. I wanted to know what was going on, but I would get no answers before Tong returned. It was unusual for a one-on-one meeting to run on this long, as well, and it only added to my worry. Half an hour ran on into an hour, became two hours... I went down for lunch, but didn't really feel like eating much... Two hours stretched onto three, and I flopped back onto my bed, a tight ball of what I knew was misplaced worry taking up residence in my stomach. I stared at the ceiling for what felt like an age, too distracted and worried to do anything useful. What was taking Tong so long? What was so urgent that Quan couldn't wait to discuss it? How much longer would I have to wait...?

I woke with a start, unaware that I'd fallen asleep at all. I blinked at the ceiling a couple of times before sitting up, wondering how long I'd been asleep for, but getting immediately distracted by a folded piece of paper on my dresser. I knew that it hadn't been there earlier, and the worry from before began to creep back as I picked up and unfolded the letter.

"Su, I came in earlier, but you were asleep. I didn't want to wake you, 'cause you looked so peaceful, but I needed to tell you that Gan Ning and I have been sent off to - well, let's call it 'pest control'. I really wish I could have told you this face to face, but I've been told that we have to head off for the border with Wei as soon as possible, so I suppose this'll have to do.

"The other thing is that I might not be back until the battle against the Nanman. The border situation's really bad at the minute, what with Wei's defeat at He Fei, and Sun Quan want to make sure nothing bad happens. I know how bad this timing is, but please, just sit tight until we get back. I don't want this any more than you do right now, but I'm only glad that you're safely at the palace.

"Try not to do anything stupid. Missing you already, Tong."

I hesitated. That couldn't be right, surely? And if it was, then why the hell didn't Tong wake me up? Forget how peaceful I looked, something this big was more than worth risking my half-awake irrationality for. I mean, this might affect our entire _relationship_. Oh, why did I have to fall asleep?

I glanced out of the window, and saw that it was around dinner time for the rest of the palace, but I had no appetite for anything. Anyway, being around food would probably just make my feeling of slight nausea I had now worse. I'd had less than two days with Tong, two amazing, fantastic days, and now I was facing the possibility of two _months_ without him? What had I done to offend the heavens this time?

It only took five minutes before I couldn't bear it any longer. I had to do something, _anything_, to take my mind off the approaching weeks. I couldn't even turn to Ning for a laugh - he'd gone off on this stupid 'pest control' too. I knew that Sun Quan was only doing his best to protect his land and people, but right now? Argh!

I slipped out of the palace, under cover of the rapidly descending darkness - that, plus the fact that everyone was currently preoccupied with eating - and began to stride away from the building. I didn't have a destination in mind - I was too busy trying to vent some of my frustration through stamping the earth as though it had offended me. After a few minutes, I began to get the feeling that there were a lot of trees around. This didn't concern me much, but it didn't tell me where my irrational mind was taking me either, as the palace was surrounded by one forest or another.

A few more minutes, though, and the trees began to thin as I reached the treeline. It was completely dark by this point - the moon was out, but the weather was overcast, so it didn't help me know where I was. The air ahead of me was cool, but refreshing, and I could just hear the sound of water gently lapping at a bank. Fantastic. I try to take my mind off Tong by going for a walk, and I end up at the location of our first kiss - which was only 26 hours ago - and a place I'd hoped to avoid.

Oh, well. I'd be damned if I was turning back now. I continued striding forward, feeling the soil turn to small pebbles, then to wood under my feet. I was much to frustrated to pay this any attention, and strode on -

- Straight off the end of the small jetty and into the frigid water. A few seconds later, I surfaced, gasping for air, and began to struggle to the side of the lake. The water tasted absolutely foul, and I spat constantly in an effort not to swallow any. I quickly reached my own depth, and staggered out of the water, feeling uncomfortably slimy, before stumbling over to lean against a nearby tree.

Now that the initial shock of falling into a large-ish body of water was wearing off, I felt intensely annoyed at myself for getting so distracted that I'd walked in in the first place. I mean, who does that? I wrung the front of my top out with rather more force than necessary, shook the slimy water off my hands in disgust, and stalked off through the woods back in the direction of the castle.

Was I really so fixated with Tong that I'd walk into the lake? That was just - well, it was plain stupid. It was two months until I would see him again, and if I couldn't last that long without going and doing something as stupid as walk into the _lake, _damn it, then I didn't deserve him. Hey, was he really going to be happy that his girlfriend turned into such a ditz that she'd do something like that as soon as he went anywhere? I needed to get a grip. Two months was _nothing_.

The palace loomed in the twilight, and I skulked in the shadows, trying to avoid being seen. I imagine that I didn't look that pretty after my unexpected dip, and I was _not_ in the mood to be laughed at. I was pretty lucky there, actually, because most people were still in the mess hall. Gods bless those cooks, I thought, as I turned into my corridor and reached for the door handle -

"What happened to _you_?"

Without turning, I knew that it was Shang Xiang. I raised my head, and addressed my door.

"I fell in the lake, and now I'm having a bath. Don't ask."

"Ah."

I entered my room, closing my door firmly behind me before peeling off my sodden clothes. I avoided my reflection in the mirror - I didn't need confirmation of how bad I looked - and stalked into the bathroom. The servants had left three buckets of water beside the basin - my bath would be cold, but I didn't care. I tipped the water into the bath, and grabbed my cloth from the small table in the corner before immersing myself in the tepid water.

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in my nightwear and dragging a brush through my wet hair. I needed an early night - my earlier 'nap' didn't seem to have helped much. Sighing, I gave up on getting rid of the knots - who was going to see them before tomorrow, anyway? - replaced my brush on the dresser, and turned to my lovely, inviting bed -

"Hey, Su! What are you doing, going to bed so early? Come on, get dressed! We're going to show you the nightlife!"

I blinked wearily at the intruders. Shang Xiang, Lu Xun, and Xiao Qiao were all crowding in my doorway, grinning madly at me.

"What? I'm tired, you guys..."

"Nonsense! Xun, you wait out here. Me and Xiao are going to help Su get ready!"

I backed away as the girls advanced on me, hands raised in defense against their mischievous grins.

"You've had nearly seven years to show me the 'night-life', so why does it have to be tonight?"

"Because you'd normally spend your evenings with Ning, or, given recent 'developments', with Tong, and they've both gone on this border check thing, so you're stuck here like a loose end, you don't have a better idea, and I'm not putting up with you carrying on about how bored and lonely you are for the next two months. Now, are you going to come quietly, or are we going to have to tickle you into submission?" said Shang Xiang, as Xiao rummaged through my sparse wardrobe.

"Su, remind me to take you clothes shopping one of these days. Even Xunnie has more clothes than you do!" she said over her shoulder with a giggle.

"Have a look for that purple dress with the silver detail."

"Ooh! You mean that one that we got her for her twentieth birthday? That'd be _perfect_!"

I stood and watched in bewilderment as Shang Xiang and Xiao organised my outfit. Two minutes ago, I was ready to crawl into bed, but it was beginning to dawn on me, as said dress was produced and thrust at me, that bedtime was going to be a long time in coming.

"So," said Shang Xiang triumphantly, "You coming or not?"

I have her a defeated look before taking the dress from Xiao.

"Go make sure Xun doesn't peek in on me," I said as I began to struggle out of my bedclothes.

"I'm not going to peek!" came an indignant voice from the corridor. Despite myself, I began to grin.

"Right! Now come over here and let us do your hair!" said Shang Xiang, motioning at the small stool I had at my dresser. Behind her, Xiao picked up my hairbrush and giggled. I sat down obediently, and tried not to wince when the brush caught any knots in my damp hair.

Shang Xiang and Xiao worked quickly - I had a feeling that they'd done all this many, many times before with just as many unsuspecting people - and soon, most of my long hair was pinned up in the most complicated fashion I'd ever seen, in elaborate curls up my head until they reached the top, where they ended in draping wisps. Even then, they still weren't finished with me.

When they finally let me leave ten minutes later, I tottered out of my room and heard Xun gasp. The girls, despite my reservations, had done a fantastic job on me. They'd tweaked my hair a bit more, leaving the front bits dangling around my face attractively. From some mysterious place about their persons, they had produced some makeup, and my eyelids were coloured a smokey grey, going lighter toward the edges, my cheeks looked bronzed and healthy, and my lips were a bold wine red that suited me to the ground. They'd also found, lurking in my cupboard, a pair of two-inch heeled sandals which I'd never worn before.

"You scrub up quite well, you know," said Xun, grinning. I gave him a playful punch in the arm (incidentally hitting it in that spot which makes you lose all feeling and movement in it), and turned to the girls as they came into the corridor.

"Well, you've dressed me up, made up my face, and persuaded me to go out. I'm probably going to end up regretting this, but I'm going to let you say where we're going. Where to first?"

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I didn't even know that such places existed, but it felt like I'd visited every shady hole devoted to the consumption of alcohol in the city, and there were many of them. Shang Xiang was hung around my neck, having insisted on having a drink in every place we went to. Xiao was flushed, and giggling non-stop, and even Xun was wearing his hat at an angle, with his normally impeccable hair sticking out at weird angles. I was the least drunk of the group, having never really developed a taste for alcohol, but I was still seeing double and slurring every other word.

"I'm gonna have to ask you all to leave, now, I need to close up for the night." said the large man who had served us. I helped the completely legless Shang Xiang to her feet, and staggered out of the door after Xun and Xiao, nearly twisting my ankle on several occasion as we lurched down the street.

"I s'pose we'd be'er get backtothepalace now..." I slurred, swaying under the weight of Shang Xiang.

"Which way _is_ the palace, anyway?" asked Xun, peering around while trying to keep his balance, and failing miserably. Xiao giggled.

"I's _this_ way..." Shang Xiang mumbled, pointing to our right.

Stumbling along under Shang Xiang's slurred instructions, we somehow managed to get back to the palace without being mugged or anything like that. We tried to creep through the sleeping palace quietly, but it was incredibly hard when you were as bladdered as we were. Shushing each other loudly and bumping into things, we managed to get to Xun's room, the nearest of all of ours, and piled inside.

Shang Xiang was asleep as soon as I set her in a nearby chair, so I tried to find a blanket or something to put over her. Being far too drunk to tell the difference, she ended up asleep and wrapped up in Xun's rug. I turned around to see Xun and Xiao snuggle up to each other on the bed, both smiling faintly -

- And knew that I had to get out of there. I stumbled out of Xun's room, sober enough to know I was drunk, and drunk enough to make matters worse. For some reason, I just couldn't handle seeing my friends snuggle up - it just served to shove in my face the fact that I wasn't able to do that, because Tong was away on this bloody stupid border control thing. I just wanted to get back to my own room, to be in comfortable and familiar surroundings. I tried to be quiet as I snook back to my room, but I was beginning to cry, tears running down my face and great sobs struggling to escape. No matter how drunk I was, I would only let three people see me cry if I could help it, and one was asleep and the other two weren't here.

I was in my own corridor now, still trying to hold back the tears, but maybe it was because of my blurry vision that I walked to the other end of the corridor and into a room there. Ignoring my surroundings, I flung myself onto the empty bed face first, still trying to cry quietly. It had gone beyond my loneliness now - my depression and the lingering effects of the _sake_ were causing me to remember the other times I'd felt this bad - starting from the time I'd received my facial scars, and working down from there, through all those little things which you had accepted and thought had been buried long ago. In the end, I just cried because I was crying.

I woke slowly, my eyelids sticking together and my tongue a huge hairy thing that seemed to fill my mouth. Before I'd even thought about trying to pry my eyes open, I knew that I was going to regret regaining consciousness.

I gave up on trying to go back to sleep when the worst headache I'd ever had hit me square between my eyes. Sighing gently, in case I made it worse, I rolled over onto my back. I was on top of the covers , and still wearing the little purple number from last night -

Last night. Partying. Shang Xiang, Xun, Xiao... Xun and Xiao snuggling up... Tong. Tong, the man who I loved, and would love forever, was away, and I didn't know when he'd be back. I opened my eyes, and pulled myself into a sitting position. Damn. With this headache, I felt even worse without Tong -

Something caught my eye. Nunchucks. A rack full of nunchucks.

I'd fallen asleep in Tong's room.

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**A/N: **And, if you have the faintest inkling of an idea what I was on when I wrote these latest chapters, please write it down on a piece of paper and... eat it. Nah, lol, I had fun trying to imagine a drunken Xun... Staggering around with his hat skew-if and a bemused smile on his face. What larks.

**Please review!** I only had 4 reviews for the last chapter, and after several chapters with over ten reviews each, it's a bit of a let down. I know there isn't much action going on, but I'm going to have to say that the next chapter won't go up until I get 10 reviews, and I don't like begging for reviews like that.

Anyway, more of my randomness in the next exciting installment of... Warrior of Art!


	12. Grim Reminders

** A/N: **I've given up on reviews because I'm obsessed with this story, but absolutely huge thanks go to Rothek the Thief, thebladeofchaos, shy guy, Bladed Thesis, and Flag-Twirler9910. For the record, I know so much about these characters and battles through a combination of researching them on individual websites, and from playing the game WAAAY too much. And for those who thought Su was a bit of a nutter in the last chapter... you have nooo idea. But that's for another chapter! Let's crack on with this one. Enjoy!

Oh, and I've broken 300 pages, 2,800 views, and 85 reviews! Thanks, everybody!

**Disclaimer: **I own the plot, Su Zhi, and also that crazy guy who gave her that scar in Chapter 5... Read on to find out more!

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Only after running back to my own room past a few bemused servants, shutting the door behind me, going into the bathroom, and catching sight of myself in the mirror, did I realise what a state I was in. My hair was a downright mess, and somewhat reminiscent of a birds nest, my make-up had migrated south of its original position, giving me huge panda eyes, and my dress was hopelessly crumpled. I sighed, before stripping off my dress, and washing as best as I could with a bucket of water that a servant must have put there earlier. Once my face was clean of make-up and I was feeling slightly more awake, I went through and pulled on my normal clothes. I was just dragging a hairbrush through my hair when someone called to me.

"Hey, Su. Where'd you go last night?"

I turned to see Shang Xiang stood in my doorway, rubbing her eyes and still in last nights clothes, looking as though she'd only just woken up.

"Huh? I came back here. Why?"

"Xun and Xiao said they thought they saw you leave just after we got back. Why'd you go?"

An image of Xun and Xiao snuggled on the bed flashed before my eyes, and a sickly feeling settled in my stomach. I knew that they were both just as drunk as I had been, but it didn't do anything to make me feel better.

"I... I just wanted to get back to my own room..."

I turned away, but not before Shang Xiang had noticed my expression.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, coming further into my room.

"I... I just... oh, it's nothing."

"Don't be stupid. I know you well enough that I can tell when you're upset. Tell me what it is."

"...Well... I... it's just... Oh, I really miss Tong, and I'm annoyed that he didn't wake me up before I left, but at the same time I love that he didn't want to disturb me, and I'd normally go talk to Ning because he occasionally makes sense, but I can't because they've both gone away on this stupid thing and it's been less than a month since He Fei and less than a week since I've recovered from my back, and now we're going to fight someone else I know very little about in a very hot climate and my head hurts and I don't know what to do! And yesterday I walked into the bloody lake."

Shang Xiang leaned back from my tirade, before rubbing her forehead.

"At the minute, I can pretty much relate to you. I've got a hangover from last night as well, I think it's a bit too soon to be thinking about fighting again, I don't like to be too hot, and I miss Ning."

I was about to retaliate with the fact that at least she hadn't walked into any large bodies of water lately, but something about the way she said the last part made me hesitate.

"What's with you and Ning? I saw you two kiss the other night."

"Huh? You mean when we stole those jugs of _sake_? I kiss everyone when I'm drunk. I kissed _you_ last night."

"Yeah, but that was a friendly. You gave Ning the full frontal assault, I saw you."

Shang Xiang looked awkward for all of a fraction of a second before replying.

"There isn't anything _official_ going on... but I wish he'd take a hint every now and then! Oh, the idiot..."

I smiled.

"It takes a lot to get him to take the hint. An elephant could charge him and he'd still not take the hint to get out of the way."

Shang Xiang giggled.

"Yeah. We're a right pair, aren't we?"

"It wouldn't be so bad if I knew a definite date when they're coming back. At this rate, they're going to turn up halfway through the Nanman battle."

"From what I've heard from Quan, we might end up needing them."

"Hmm? Why?"

Shang Xiang sat down on my bed, and I put down my hairbrush, my appearance forgotten, and turned to face her.

"We'll be facing Meng Huo himself, and his wife Zhu Rong. They're both fierce fighters in their own rights, but while Meng hits hard, Rong is an expert at throwing knives. We'll be away from the poison marshes, thank goodness, but it won't stop them using tigers and elephants. And they already know the lay of the land, and _we're_ the cruel invaders this time, and it's going to be hotter than we're used to. This is going to be harder than Quan's letting on."

"Well, then, it sounds like we're just going to have to fight a bit harder."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, each wrapped in our own thoughts, before Shang Xiang sighed and stood up.

"I'd better be off to my room to change for breakfast."

"Okay. See you."

Shang Xiang left the room, and I turned back to my dresser and picked up my hairbrush, still deep in thought. Shang Xiang having a crush on Ning was a thought I'd entertained before, but I'd dismissed it as being unimportant. I mean, yeah, it was a turn up for the scrolls, but it wouldn't help pass the time until Ning and Tong got back. Two months is a long time to be impatient in.

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The month following this passed in a flurry of partying, boozing, hangovers, and half-hearted training, until one morning I woke up in my bed with no idea how I'd got there. As the worst hangover I'd experienced yet kicked in, the door opened quietly, and Shang Xiang poked her head into the room. When she saw I was awake, she came in fully, closing the door behind her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly. I tried to raise my head, but abandoned the idea when the throbbing between my eyes intensified. Screwing them up against the pain, I somehow managed to croak a reply.

"...Bad..."

"We were worried about you for a bit there. You just keeled over - do you remember how much you had to drink last night?"

I tried to think back, but I could only remember scattered fragments of the night before. This wasn't good - I'd never not been able to remember the night before, and it freaked me out a bit.

"I... I don't know..."

"I do. You had about ten jugs of _sake_ - you were legless before we were even halfway round."

"What? I can't have drunk that much, don't be daft."

"I'm not, you really had that much to drink last night. Xiao thought you'd given yourself alcohol poisoning."

"Xiao was there?"

Shang Xiang's expression softened a bit.

"You really don't remember?"

"No..."

"Well, you've got to stop drinking so much. It's not good for you."

"I know, I know..."

"And Tong could be back at any time."

I started. What with all the boozing and parties, I'd somehow managed to forget all about Tong. In fact, I thought guiltily, I hadn't thought about him for two weeks - my mind had been completely on the drink.

"What's the time?" I asked, still staring at my thoughts.

"It's about half nine. Most of the rest of the palace is already up."

I nodded to myself.

"Right. Then, until Tong gets back, I'm not going to touch another drop of _sake_. I can't let Tong see me like _this_." I said, gesturing at myself.

"Okay. I'll go tell Xun and Xiao that you've woken up."

"Xun was there? Ugh, man, I really do need to stop drinking so much..."

"Yeah. Oh -" Shang Xiang paused in the doorway, and reached into her pocket. "This came for you earlier this morning."

She handed me a scroll, which was tied with a strip of red silk. I immediately knew who it was from - it was the same type of red silk strip that Tong used to keep his hair up out of his face. Not even caring if I incurred the wrath of my hangover, or if Shang Xiang was still in the room, I sat up in bed, ripped off the piece of silk, and read:

'Dear Su,

'I'm really sorry, but this is taking longer than we thought it would. It looks like Wei are seeing us and immediately trying to get us - I'm only glad you don't have to be here, what with you taking Cao Cao temporarily out of action and all. They don't think we'll be able to get back until the beginning of the battle against the Nanman at the earliest.

'I'm really missing you out here, but I know you can take care of yourself for another month, and I know that you'll be sensible. Don't you worry about me; there's been a few close calls, but I'm fine. Ning's okay, too - someone got him on his forearm, but that's nothing to him. He still managed to fight his way out of that one.

'There haven't been any major fights or anything, but we're still on watch all day, every day. As long as I know you haven't done anything daft and got yourself hurt, I can put up with it for however long it takes to get back to you.

'Yours, Tong.'

My lip began to tremble treacherously. Seeing how much he missed me was just making me think more about how I didn't deserve him when I was in this state. However, at least I knew what to do to change that.

Stumbling out of bed, I grabbed a quill, a bottle of ink, and a piece of paper from the small table next to the dresser. My hand wobbling and my head pounding fit to bust, I wrote myself a little reminder of what I was about to do.

"From this day on," I muttered to myself as the quill scratched its way across the paper," and especially until Tong gets back, I, Su Zhi, will not touch another drop of _sake_ or any other type of alcohol unless Tong is around, to prove to myself that I don't need to drink to have fun, and to show how much I love Tong.

"Signed, Su Zhi."

I put down the quill and smiled vaguely as I reread it. Then my hangover got fed up of being ignored, and I had to run into the bathroom to throw up.

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"So, then, it's settled." said Lu Meng. "We'll advance on their attack base, disable it before it can cause any damage, and carry on toward their general. Lu Xun, you're under my command for this battle, and we'll be attacking from the west. Zhou Tai, I want you to advance ahead of us to take out the enemy soldiers. Lady Sun, you'll avoid the base altogether and take out the guard captains to stop more troops coming through. Su Zhi, I want you to hang back behind Lady Sun, and give help when necessary. Do you all know what you're doing? Good. Then go and prepare for battle."

"This is your first battle, isn't it, Xun?" asked Shang Xiang as we walked away together.

"Yeah, but I'm still a bit worried about the positioning. I'm sure it won't matter, but the main camp seems awfully deserted. It feels like we're going to be advancing too far." said Xun, fiddling with his hat distractedly.

"What are they going to do, chop down the only bridge into the main camp? You know that the camp and Sun Quan are between two solid walls on either side. We'll be fine!" I said, slightly more aggressively than I'd meant to.

"Calm down, Su," said Shang Xiang quietly, as a few inquisitive faces turned in our direction. I sagged slightly.

"Sorry. I just want Tong-"

"- To get back, we know. He said he'd be back in time for the battle, though, and that's only a week away." said Xun as we reached the junction with his corridor. "I need to finish a few reports before we head off, so I'll see you later."

We waved at him as he walked off to his room.

"What are we going to do, anyway?" said Shang Xiang, as we watched the young strategist turn into his room.

"I dunno. It feels like it's been so long since I last fought properly, but if I train any more, I'll scream."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. At the minute, I just want to go down to the spring to relax and cool off."

"Hey, that's a good idea. Mind if I tag along?"

"Feel free." Shang Xiang said, smiling.

The spring was a fairly new discovery for us - we'd only found it a few months ago. It was only five minutes away by foot from the main palace, in a clearing in the middle of a wooded area. Frankly, I needed to relax a bit at the moment, and it was one of the few places around here that really felt peaceful and idyllic.

Except that it wasn't today. Shang Xiang gasped in shock as the clearing came into view from between the trees, and as I stepped out from behind her, so did I. Deep gouges had been made in the earth all around the spring; large, ragged patches of bark had been torn from the surrounding trunks, and the broken, jagged stumps of branches looked raw and almost bloody, as the sap oozed out in the dull light. The spring water had turned murky, the grass was brown and dead, and the flowers had been viciously stamped flat.

Horrifying as the ravaged clearing was, though, it wasn't that which grabbed my attention and made my chest feel like a tightening vice. Pinned to one of the trees on the far side of the clearing to us by a crude arrow, was a sketch of a face. In all respects, it was a perfectly normal one, but over the right eye, and in a sickening shade of dried blood, were two lines that joined in the middle to form an X.

My hand raised to my face as I turned to share a horrified glance with Shang Xiang. Whoever had destroyed the safe haven of this clearing had been responsible for a large chunk of the hardship which I had experienced nearly seven years ago. The face, pinned so brazenly on that tree by whoever it was that had done this, was mine.

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Half an hour later, we were sat in Sun Quan's study. I was still shaking slightly, the image of the clearing still vivid in my mind. What did it mean? Was it meant to be some sort of sick shrine, or a reminder that he was still out there, or a warning of things to come? Shang Xiang was sat next to me, with her arm around my shoulders. She'd recovered from the shock of finding such a peaceful place in tatters first, and dragged me back to the palace and straight to her brother.

Behind us, the door opened quietly, and Huang Gai entered. We all turned to look at him as he gave a quick bow, then nodded to Sun Quan.

"It is true."

Huang Gai had been sent to make sure we were telling the truth, but also to make sure that there wasn't anyone hanging around, waiting to ambush us. Sun Quan acknowledged him with a grim smile and a nod, before turning to us.

"This is worrying, so close to the battle. The question is, what do we do about it?"

I said nothing, but my eyes raised to meet those of Quan's.

"I know you want to go to battle, and I want you to be there. However, this is obviously a threat to your personal safety." He hesitated, but then seemed to reach a decision. "I can't stop you from going outside, and I know you are a more than capable warrior, but I don't want you going out on your own. We'll review the situation after the battle. For now, you should probably head back to your room."

Shang Xiang stood up first, and pulled me to my feet. I followed her out of the door, and we began walking in the direction of my room.

"It's the same people as before." I said quietly. It was the first thing I'd said since the clearing.

"Huh? The same people who got you before? That was seven years ago; how can you be so sure?"

"I... I don't know. I just am."

We walked the rest of the way in silence, but it didn't last.

"What the...?" said Shang Xiang, as we turned into my corridor. A small crowd of people were outside my door, craning to look inside. They turned to look at us - at _me_ - as we approached, and opened up in front of us in eerie silence.

"Oh, no..." breathed Shang Xiang from behind me.

It was a mirror of the clearing with the spring, but so much more terrifying because, of all places, my bedroom should be safe. To come back and see this... My window had been smashed open, the broken glass glittering on the floor. My mirror was a network of crazed lines. My bedsheets were torn and crumpled, my pictures which I had pinned to the wall with such care, pieces of grim confetti, and my chair had been smashed against the wall.

But, again, it wasn't the wholesale destruction that really scared me. A picture of me and Tong, which I'd had made of us a couple of weeks after he had gone, had been placed in the center of the floor so that it faced the door. The picture had been viciously torn in half, separating me from Tong, and had been replaced by two words, written in the same putrid shade of dirty red as before.

"You're Mine."

It was just too much. I fainted.

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**A/N:** Finally, I get around to making the fact that someone randomly mutilated Su's face then left her make sense! Although it did occur to me that she may be overreacting a bit. But I'm not going to change it. If something that you had always envisaged as being safe and sheltered was suddenly ripped to shreds, I think I'd be freaking out a bit, too.

Anyway, please review! I've become such a review whore since I've started this story, seriously. Oh well. See you in the next chapter!


	13. Bridges

** A/N: **Hope you all had a good Christmas! As a late pressie, I've decided to post up the next chapter. And thanks for helping me get to over 3k views and 90 reviews! Hopefully chapter 13 goes some way to living up to your expectations of this story. This is a chapter of ACTION! and SUSPENSE! and GOING ON TO THE SECOND NOTEBOOK! and ABUSING THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON!

As always, hugs, thanks, and virtual cookies go to my wonderful reviewers, namely Rothek the Thief, thebladeofchaos, shyangel06, and Beautihul Miko! I love you all for making me feel like it's worth spending my time updating this story. And now, onto the next chapter... (by the way, I'm taking the bodyguards from DW4 for this one.)

**Disclaimer:** Don't make me send that crazy guy who's after Su after you...

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"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have to. I need to show that I'm not scared of this sicko, and I can't let you guys down, I just won't let myself."

"Okay, then. I suppose I can't make you change your mind."

Turning from Shang Xiang, I made sure I was fully prepared to fight. In deference to the fact I'd apparently acquired a psycho stalker, Sun Quan had insisted that I take bodyguards with me. I wasn't too happy about it, but it was the only way Quan would let me on the battle field.

"Alright, I'm ready. Let's head to the stables."

We walked in silence, deep in thought. Was this really such a good idea? Presumably, my stalker wouldn't follow us down there, but I knew that Quan was quite concerned about my safety, especially after I fainted a week ago. The state of my room had been particularly shocking for the whole palace - surely, of all places, you should be safe in your own room. The destruction of my room had shaken everyone. I had been sleeping in Tong's room since then, which made me feel safer, but also made me feel more irritable than usual because it was reminding me of the one person who I was really missing.

I shook my head gently to rid myself such thoughts as we reached the stables. I wouldn't be any help to anyone by getting depressed over Tong. The stable boy looked up from brushing down a horse as we entered, and smiled at me.

"Just rubbing your horse down, my lady!" he said, patting the animal on the nose before stepping aside.

"Thank you." I said, smiling vaguely at him before mounting my horse.

"You're welcome, my lady! She's a lovely beast, isn't she?" he said conversationally as Shang Xiang mounted her own horse.

"Come on, Su, they'll be waiting for us," said Shang Xiang, before urging her horse into a trot.

"Coming!" I turned back to the stable boy. "Bye."

"See you, my lady!"

"Do you know him?" Shang Xiang asked quietly when I had caught up with her.

"He's just a stable boy. He's only been here a year or so, but he runs errands for the other servants. We talk occasionally. That's all."

"Oh. Okay." said Shang Xiang.

We rounded the corner at a gentle trot, and rode up to where Quan was waiting.

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you'd got to. Su, your bodyguards are waiting for you near the food carts. Shang Xiang, you and I will ride at the front. We're leaving in twenty minutes, so make sure you have everything."

We both nodded, and rode off up the line of soldiers and carts. I quickly spotted my bodyguards - eight women, dressed identically in red except for the woman at the front, who wore a black sash around her arm. I guessed she was in charge of the group, all of whom were armed with short swords. They looked up as we approached, and I shared a glance with Shang Xiang before riding over.

"My lady, you are Lady Su?" asked the leader.

"Y - yeah. I'm taking it you're my bodyguards?"

"Indeed, Ma'am. My name is Mei Mei, and here we have Na Mei, Li Cai, Da Cai, Xing Yu, Zhou Chan, Yu Mei, and Sun Li. We are all honoured to be working with you during the next few days. We have heard many tales about your actions during the battle at He Fei!"

"You have?" I asked, slightly bewildered. I wasn't sure what they had heard about He Fei, but I was now feeling under pressure to be as good - if not better - in this following battle. There was also the problem of trying to remember all their names. This could be interesting. "Well, uh, thank you for your support. I'm used to fighting on my own, but you probably know why I need you guys this time round. Let's just get on with it, eh?"

There was a chorus of agreement, then the girls settled down to talking amongst themselves. Soon, a shout was echoing up the line, and we set off at a gentle trot. The bodyguards rode in a circle around me, still chatting amongst themselves, and I settled into deep thought as we rode down the road out of Jiang Dong.

My god, I missed Tong. Where the hell was he? Was he really alright, like he kept on claiming in his letters? When was I going to see him? With all the drama going on at the minute, I really needed him around for comfort. I missed Ning as well, because it just wasn't the same with him gone. I knew Shang Xiang missed him, but was he missing her? As much of a born fighter as he was, I knew that there was more to him than the ability to scare the enemy senseless with just the jingle of his bells, and I just hoped - if not only for Shang Xiang's sake - that he wasn't badly injured.

What was I going to do about this crazy person who was stalking me? I'd had time to mull it over, but it just didn't make _sense_. Seven years ago, when most of the palace had been off fighting Cao Cao at Chi Bi, I'd been ambushed while exploring, knocked out, then woken up by Da Qiao with a large and disfiguring scar, which at the time had devastated me. And now, when my life seemed to be going pretty well - even if I was drinking too much and missing Tong like anything - he pops up again, destroys our favourite spring and my own damned bedroom, claims me for himself, and generally puts everyone on edge, and all a week before we're due to be fighting the Nanman at Nan Zhong. Why? What was the sense of it?

He knew about the clearing. How? And how had he known that we knew it was there, and that we liked to go down there sometimes? How had he known that we were going to go there last week? Or were we not meant to have found it in that state - something I doubted heavily - was it just somewhere that he went to train and obsess over me? There was simply no question that the picture wasn't of me - my scars made me unique throughout China, and they'd been drawn on in exactly the same place.

Why had no-one heard him trash my room? Breaking glass and smashing chairs up surely isn't that quiet, but everyone who had been crowding around my door and all the servants had been questioned, and no-one had heard anything. And... ugh... the blood that that terrible message had been written in hadn't been completely dry. Just how quickly had this creep managed to destroy the supposedly safe haven of my room?

Questions were teeming in my head, all of them demanding answers that I simply didn't have. And here I was, riding toward battle.

This was going to be fun.

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

This was it. Time to fight. Everyone was ready and rearing to go, and I tried to convince myself I felt the same way. One at a time, we had advanced over the rickety bridge toward our starting positions, and we could already see the enemy. I gave up on stretching, and flicked out my wrist blades, testing the blades with my finger as I watched the nearest Nanman soldiers. My bodyguards had spread out on a wary ring around me, but I ignored them. This was a battle, after all.

I'd been told to hang back, and only give help where necessary, but even with all the drama centered around me at the moment, I'd be damned if I missed an opportunity to gut someone. I had quite a bit of frustration to work off.

In the distance, I could see Shang Xiang attacking from atop her horse. It really was amazing, how accurately she could throw those chakrams. Nanman soldiers who jumped to attack from above were caught utterly off-guard by the spinning circular blades. It was morbidly entertaining.

I could see Lu Xun, fighting just outside of the attack base, as well from here. It was quite odd to think of the little strategist being a warrior, but the proof was right in front of me. I raised an eyebrow as he did a back-flip - was this really the same Xun who we used to tease when we'd hidden his hat and he was getting worried? It was scary, really.

As I watched, another squad of Nanman closed in behind Xun. He was now pretty much on his own against twenty men - I'd had worse odds in my first battle, but that was the one time I ended up beaten. I turned to my bodyguards.

"Right, ladies, I'm about ready to join this battle. I'm not quite sure what orders Sun Quan gave you regarding to me, so all I'm going to say is that this isn't like training in the slightest. But, if you all watch my back, I'll watch yours, and if we're lucky, we'll all make it through this one alive. Got it?"

A couple of them glanced at each other, but then they nodded at me.

"Right," I said, more to myself than anything. Turning from them, I launched into a run toward where Xun was struggling to hold off a couple of the Nanman soldiers.

I didn't slow as I reached the edge of the group, instead using my momentum to strengthen the slashes from my blades. By the time I'd come to a halt, I'd killed or injured at least half a dozen of them, and my bodyguards were working hard at increasing that number. I took out another one, who was threatening to catch Xun off guard from behind, and watched as he dispatched the last three in one move.

"You don't half fight better than I thought you would," I said, as he moved forward to take out the guard captain.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Su. This isn't too bad."

I grinned as I turned to incapacitate a soldier who hadn't been paying attention.

"Yeah? Would you still think so if I'd let that soldier attack you from behind?"

"What soldier?"

"Exactly."

There was a pause, which I used to gut a soldier to my left.

"I'd have been fine. I can be quite fearsome when I want to be."

I rolled my eyes, grinning.

"Until you get a reputation like Ning's, I don't think you can say that."

"Just watch this!"

I turned so that my back was against the crude wooden wall, and watched as he pulled off an interesting little combination of slashes, flips, and stabs. When he'd finished, the crowd of ten who had been surrounding him had been reduced to four.

"Pssh, that's not fearsome. _This_ is what you want to aim for -"

I moved back into the middle of the action, vaguely aware that my bodyguards were watching with interest. The dark-skinned warriors spread out around me, watching warily. When I was sure I had their full attention, I quickly flicked my wrist blades back into their sheaths, whipped my Clackers from around my neck, threw them up into the air as I half turned, grabbed them by one end as they fell, and threw them into one of the support posts of the base, still turning. Just as the wooden post began to disintegrate, I snatched up my Clackers and ran to safety.

Xun and my bodyguards were watching me with their mouths open. I had, after all, just destroyed part of the attack base to get rid of ten soldiers.

"What?" I said, doing my best to look innocent, before lashing out behind me with my foot. There was a muffled "Oomph" as I made contact, and my audience transferred their gaze to the crumpled soldier I'd just mule-kicked in a rather sensitive area.

"Well, at least now I know how you got the upper hand in your other battles." said Xun, wincing in sympathy for the groaning man on the floor.

"It looks like you have much to teach us," said Mei Mei, looking impressed. I shrugged as I swung my Clackers back around my neck and flicked my wrist blades out again.

"It's just dirty fighting and common sense. Come on, don't just stand there looking shocked - we've still got a battle to fight!"

A couple of minutes later, we were fighting the Nanman in the small clearing to the south of the broken base, when I heard the news that I'd been longing to hear for two long months, accompanied by some not-so-good news.

"Lords Gan Ning and Ling Tong have arrived with reinforcements! But the Nanman have sent a squad to destroy the bridge! shouted a messenger as he rode past on the back of a brown horse.

My heart managed to rise and sink at the same time. Finally, my beloved Tong was back, but we were also facing the danger of being cut off from our main camp and leader. I glanced around me, biting my lip slightly. Everyone was busy fighting. Well, then, time to do what I was there to do. Tong would just have to wait.

"Ladies! To me! We're stopping those bastards from chopping down the bridge!" I shouted, before running off without checking to see if they had heard me. I ran straight through the stricken base, jumping over debris where necessary, and emerging on the other side just in time to see Lu Meng riding forward to meet the Nanman squad.

I checked behind me to find all my bodyguards there. One of them, Yu Mei I think, was bleeding from her arm, but they were all watching me attentively.

"Come on. We'll stop them from reaching the bridge in the first place!"

Under my quick instruction, my bodyguards spread out in front of the bridge in a line. I stood in the middle, closely watching Lu Meng's squad and ready to spring into action when I needed to. It was strange, but the enemy squad didn't seem to want to fight. They just had one task in front of them, and they were going to follow through.

We bunched closer as they approached, still being attacked by Meng's men. They really were determined. I tried to get ready to stop them going any further -

- But was caught completely off guard when the leading man charged me, catching me around my waist and sending me flying onto the bridge. I scrabbled to my feet as the rickety structure swayed worryingly, and turned to face the man - only to find that he was stood next to the bridge support, holding a small but evil-looking knife to the rope.

"Any of you move, and I'll cut this rope!" he announced, grinning unpleasantly at me. "Now, walk back - slowly! - there we are...

"Now, I invite you to look at that water below you. Swallow any of that, and you will die painfully. I may just let you fall in anyway! But that wouldn't be fun, would it?" He turned to talk briefly to one of his soldiers, and I took the chance to glance behind me. I was about three meters from the other side, but, as I turned back, a plan began to form.

The Nanman with his knife to the rope was talking gloatingly at me again, but I was trying to catch Lu Meng's eye. When I had his attention, I flicked my eyes at the soldier with the knife. Lu Meng, realising what I was about to do, widened his eyes to try and dissuade me, but I nodded imperceptibly. He slowly shifted his grip on his spear, so he was ready to strike, then looked at me again.

"Hey!" I said, interrupting the gloating dark-skinned man mid-sentence. "Are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna chop down this bridge?"

He scowled, and pushed the blade of the knife harder into the rope.

"Do you want to die? I was going to give you the chance to escape, but if death is what you wish, then that's fine by-"

"- Now!"

Lu Meng brought his spear down in the Nanman, but it was just too late. I dived for the other bank as the bridge gave way, and was literally left hanging by my fingertips. Scrabbling for a foothold on the remains of the bridge, there was a tenuous moment where I was stood on thin air, before I found a foothold, and pulled myself onto the far bank of the river.

"Are you alright?" asked Meng as I tried to get my breath back. I have him a thumbs up as I bent over and gasped -

- And froze as a large crash reverberated from behind me, quickly mirrored by one on the other side of the camp. I turned to the source of the nearest one, and couldn't believe my eyes.

The walls which had flanked our main camp were in pieces, and tigers, Nanman, and elephants were pouring through.

"Oh, shit..." I said, still gulping in breaths. An elephant, spotting me, looked down its trunk at me with mad, beady eyes, before trumpeting loudly and charging. I dived to the side, rolling out of the way just as it reached me. It was going too fast to stop, as it turned out, and as I jumped back to my feet, both rider and elephant plunged into the river.

I looked up to see my bodyguards dithering, and Lu Meng shouting urgently at his soldiers.

"Go with Lu Meng! I'll try and cut through to the west path and meet you near the second attack base! Now go!"

They scurried off, glancing over their shoulders worriedly at me as they went. I turned back to what seemed like an impossible task in time to see, in the distance, Sun Quan getting knocked off his horse by a tiger. I took off at a dead run, past brawls of tigers, Nanman , and Wu, and reached Sun Quan just in time to ward off a strike that would have done considerable damage, had it made contact.

There were now around thirty men and tigers surrounding us. I stood back to back with Sun Quan, daring anyone to make a move.

"This doesn't look good..." said Quan.

"No, it just means we have to up the ante, my lord."

A man made a lunge at us, but decided against it when I easily dodged it, and went to return the favour.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this is just a little something I practiced at He Fei..."

I started muttering under my breath as I flicked my wrist blades away and swung my Clackers down from around my neck. This would be tricky to pull off, but it was the same basic principle as a move I'd done before...

With a flick of my wrist, I set my Clackers crashing around my hand, first above and then below. However, instead of fire gathering at the middle, crystals of ice were forming at my fingers. I grimaced as my fingers began to burn, then blister, from the cold, but didn't stop until I judged the ball of ice to be big enough. When it was, I flung both Clackers and ice ball at the ground.

A wave of ice even bigger than the wave of fire at He Fei immediately radiated from the point of impact. Every last one of our assailants were thrown onto their backs, either dead or dying. Even the tigers ran away, yelping in pain. All Sun Quan and I had felt was a mild cold breeze.

I stuck my stinging fingers into my mouth, and picked up my Clackers with my other hand. I turned around to see Sun Quan looking at me in amazement, but I still read the question in his eyes.

"I used that one against Cao Hong."

"Ah."

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**A/N: **And the first notebook is gone! Expect the chapters to be a bit longer from now on, because there are more lines per page on the second notebook than the first. Not really as much of a cliffie as it could be, but I like this ending.

**NOW REVIEW OR FACE WAITING LONGER FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! **I'm up to the end of chapter 16/beginning of chapter 17 in my notebook, and things are only going to get more interesting from now on! Toodles!


	14. Burning Ice

**A/N: **Well, I'm back at school, but my exams are over so I can relax a bit. As per usual, my thankies go to thebladeofchaos, Bladed Thesis, shyangel06, Rothek the Thief, A Reviewer, Kirinfang and Aibde for reviews, favourites and alerts! Even though I know I've lost some favourites and alerts recently, I'm glad that people still like my story. If the site would let us type smiley faces properly, you'd probably get one right now.

**Disclaimer: **(Is shot for still doing this) ONLY SU ZHI IS MINE.

* * *

I turned to see that the men at the supply base were struggling against a couple of elephants.

"I'd better go help them!" I said, turning back briefly to Sun Quan before running in their direction.

I wasn't entirely sure how you went about fighting an elephant - simply knocking the riders off their backs sounds a lot easier to do when you aren't faced with a ten foot beast like that. It wasn't just a question of the height, but also of how you knocked the riders off an animal that was impervious to shock.

Ready to try anything in this strange battle, I whipped out my wrist blades, jumped into the air when I judged myself to be in range, and whipped around in midair with my arms out, creating a wave of air that somehow managed to knock both riders off their elephants at once. The beasts then immediately settled down and became docile.

Right.

I made sure that the supply base soldiers were okay before turning back to the battle. Most of the tigers had run away by now, but there were still a few Nanman and elephants. I started back toward them, but stopped when I realised that they were losing heavily.

Well, I wasn't needed here anymore. Time to make my way to where I was to meet my bodyguards. I turned to the west, and began to pick my way through the debris, head down so I wouldn't trip and fall -

"Su?"

I looked up, not daring to believe my ears.

"Tong?"

There he was. The sounds of the fighting behind me seemed to fade away as I finally managed to persuade my legs to move towards him. I felt like I was about to explode from happiness as I flicked my wrist blades away, and stumbled over the remains of the wall into his embrace. I was still grinning when he let go of me.

"Did you miss me?" he said, grinning down at me.

"I'm going to kill you for being away for so long!" I said, before pulling him into another embrace.

An elephant trumpeted behind me, bringing me back to the battle.

"I suppose we'd better finish off here before that, hmm?" said Tong, still grinning.

I let go of Tong and flicked out my wrist blades in one smooth movement. He flicked his nunchucks out from his belt, and span them around. I smiled at him.

"Shall we?"

"Of course."

We set off down the way Tong had just come, and were soon approaching the first base. The rest of Tong's men had already cleared it out, from the look of it, allowing us to walk straight through and right into the heart of the action.

Ahead of us was one enormous mass of soldiers fighting, archers firing, and elephants stampeding. I shared a glance with Tong, elated but determined, before we both ran into the fray. I flicked my wrist blades in and out distractedly as I ran. This was going to need some of my stronger moves, at least until the crowd thinned out a bit.

"I've got the elephants!" shouted Tong, before disappearing into the brawl. I nodded to myself, concentrating on my move as I sped up, performed a half-turn no-handed cartwheel before launching into a series of back-flips with my arms held straight out and my blades shearing through anything they met. Ten meters and countless fatalities later, I straightened up and charged at the nearest uninjured enemy soldier.

I carried on hacking my way through the enemy. Every time I looked in the right direction, I could see that there were less and less elephants, until they were finally all gone, and Tong reappeared at my side.

"Fun as that was," he said, panting slightly as he took out a soldier who was trying to blind-side me, "we should really try and seal off the passage over there."

I glanced to where he'd gestured as I gutted a soldier who had been a bit overconfident in his attack, and saw even more Nanman pour out past the guard captain. We needed to get over there soon - the sheer intensity of the the soldiers all around us threatened to overwhelm us, both physically and mentally.

"Looks like we're fighting our way over there," I said, ducking under a spear and gutting the man to the owners right as Tong took out my would-be attacker.

"Race you there?" Tong said, smirking, before taking off.

In theory, it should have been easy for me to follow him, as he was creating a path, but I found out almost immediately that both the enemy and Wu soldiers has a distressing habit of collapsing at my feet in a bloody mess, suddenly jumping backwards to dodge wild swings, or generally getting in my way. Just when I thought I'd found an opening, it would be filled. In the end, I just gritted my teeth, put my head down, and pushed.

After a few feet, though, I could see that this approach wasn't going to work. I steeled myself for one final push -

"This is _our_ land!"

I span around to be confronted by a large man with dark skin, a large pike, and an angry expression on his face.

"I am king Sha Moke, and I shall not let you take my land!"

The crowd seemed to open up slightly as I jumped back to avoid his wild overarm swing.

"You can't be a king!" I said as I ducked under a horizontal swipe from his pike. "A real king wouldn't look to anyone else for his orders!"

Sha Moke roared at my words, and swung at me again. I easily dodged, and grinned to myself when he next spoke.

"I have ten thousand men under my rule! Do not think I take orders from anybody!"

"Well, what is Meng Huo, huh?" I shouted, grinning maniacally. If I could just get him angry enough, then he would become careless, making for an easy defeat. It looked like it was working - he ground his pike into the soil, threw his head back, and bellowed at the sky. I braced myself against his fury, but was nearly knocked off my feet all the same. However, when he next looked at me, I knew I was in trouble.

"Meng Huo is the man who single-handedly united these weak nations, and deserves some respect from you invading fools! I would gladly give my life for him!"

He was suddenly on top of me, and it was all I could do to block his sudden frenzy of attacks. As the onslaught subsided, I attacked, using a combination of kicks, counters and slashes. I tried to perform an axe-kick, but he knocked my leg to the side with his weapon. He made a spirited attempt to disembowel me, and I knocked the blade out of the way and ran in closer, slashing at him with my blades as he tried to fend me off.

It was when he managed to slash my arm that I began to get a little desperate. As blood began to drip down from my left upper arm, I dropped back, grimacing from the pain. I was getting fed up of this, as well as all the soldiers jostling, collapsing and screaming all around me, so I flicked away my right wrist blade and pulled out my Clackers, acutely aware that the attack was going to be weaker without both hands -

A blade whistled past me, and my Clackers suddenly felt a lot lighter. Temporarily forgetting about the enraged king and the pain from my arm and fingers, I lifted the weapon to eye level. The string that had held the two ends together had been cut right through. My Clackers were ruined. The ease at which my favourite weapon had been disabled was... well, it was surreal. And incredibly infuriating.

"You broke my Clackers..." I said, almost to myself. "You cut the string and now they're broken... my _freaking Clackers_!"

My eyes narrowed as I refocused on the now hesitant Sha Moke. Without thinking, I wound my arm back, and threw the half of the Clackers that was still in my hand at him with all my strength. By some strange chance, the little metal ball trailing string smacked him square between the eyes, and he toppled like a felled tree. For good measure, I gave him a boot in the ribs.

"Bastard," I muttered as I went to retrieve the two halves of my Clackers. Tong appeared from out of the crowd as I straightened up, but stopped when he saw me.

"What happened to you?"

"Bastard over there attacked me, then he broke my Clackers so I knocked him out." I muttered darkly. Tong gestured at my bleeding arm.

"Did he do that, too?"

I looked at it as if seeing it for the first time (which I was), then back at Tong before shrugging.

"Let's just get this over with."

Tong took one look at me, and obviously decided against inquiring further.

"I closed off that passage. It's just an attack base and this lot to get to Meng Huo."

"Good."

I shoved my stricken Clackers into my pocket, and flicked out my right blade with slightly more force than necessary. I could see that we still had a long way to go before this battle was over - even with the decreased number of soldiers, there were still many more than I'd ever faced before. The Nanman closest to us looked hesitant to attack after my performance with Sha Moke, but they were looking more interested by the second.

"Hate to say this, but I think we need to pull out the big moves early ." I said as they edged closer than I was comfortable with.

"Don't you need your Clackers for that sort of thing?" Tong asked, turning to look behind us and dropping into a defensive stance.

"Pssh, they were only meant for backup. Luckily for us, I'm great at improvising." I said, while quickly flicking my blades away, bending to pick up Sha Moke's pike, and snapping the head off over my knee in one movement. "Right. Are you ready?"

We were completely surrounded by a contracting ring of Nanman soldiers, and stood back to back. I felt Tong tense behind me slightly, and began to concentrate on my own part of the move. Our attacks both struck at the same time, waves of his fire and my ice somehow mingling and becoming stronger, creating a cold that _really_ burned. It seemed to spread further than usual, too. Soldiers fifty feet away were thrown from their feet, and the soldiers who had escaped injury took one look and beat a hasty retreat.

"That's what I call unity," I muttered as the plain was all but cleared of enemies. "Come on. Let's take down that attack base."

I threw away the broken pike handle, and flicked out my wrist blades again as we walked toward the attack base, occasionally stepping to the side to dodge the giant arrows being fired at us. The first group of soldiers ran at us, spears raised, but Tong darted forward and took them all out with a spinning jump kick. I stalked onward, into the base -

"My lady!"

I turned to see my bodyguards running up to me. They all seemed to be in one piece, which was reassuring.

Tong ran past me, swinging at someone behind me. I span around to find that all the men in the base were trying to kill me, and just in time to duck under another spear. I launched at the nearest person, slashing at his stomach with my blades before spinning around and planting my foot into the temple of another Nanman soldier. To my right, a couple more soldiers fell as my bodyguards joined in, and just in front of me and to the left, Tong took care of another soldier. It wasn't long before the base was empty, and Tong turned to me.

"Why do you have bodyguards?" he asked me, looking slightly confused and worried. I sighed.

"I'll tell you when we've finished up here. It's... complicated."

Tong hesitated before nodding, but I could tell that he was concerned. There was no time to reflect on this, though - another group of soldiers were running in our direction and needed our attention.

We quickly reached the Nanman main camp. Compared to the others I'd seen, it was practically deserted, even though there were still a good hundred or so people waiting around. And, in the far back corner...

I stared. An absolute monster of a man was sat proudly astride an elephant. His weapons appeared to be massive fanged animal head gauntlets. He looked around seven feet tall and several hundred pounds.

When they told us we were fighting Meng Huo, I didn't realise that _this_ was who they meant!

As I stared, the man seemed to notice us. The elephant turned to face us, and the monster riding it threw his head back and laughed.

"I am Meng Huo!" he bellowed as the elephant began to lumber towards us, "And you're not gonna get our land!"

I dived to the side as they reached us, but quickly rolled back onto my feet. I was beginning to panic ever so slightly - that elephant could only obey its master, but how did you get a man that size off its back? It was impossible! I went to share a glance with Tong -

He wasn't there. The elephant moved to the side, and I saw him slump to the ground, blood dribbling from his temple. I took a step toward him, eyes wide with sudden numbing fear -

"My lady!"

I half turned, and saw Meng Huo bearing down on me. I dived to the side again, barely avoiding being trampled by the beast and completely on autopilot.

"We have you covered, my lady! Do what you must!"

I'd landed on my side, but I pulled myself onto my hands and knees and began to crawl towards Tong. My arm was stinging nastily, my blistered fingers were pure agony, and my hip hurt where I'd just landed awkwardly on it, but I didn't notice, or just didn't care. Tong was just lying there, half his face covered in blood, and his nunchucks lying where he'd dropped them. Had the elephant got him? Why hadn't he moved?_ Was he okay?_

My hand fell on his nunchucks, and I felt the icy feeling of terror change to the burning fire of fury. _They come here, threaten our land and all we have done to keep it safe, then have the - the unmitigated temerity to first break my weapon, my damned _weapon_, for god's sake, and then they dare to hurt my Tong? How dare they?! THEY SHALL NOT GET AWAY WITH IT A MOMENT LONGER!_

My wrist blades flicked back into their sheathes for the last time as the red mist descended. My fingers closed around the nunchucks, and I was on my feet before I'd made a conscious movement. I turned and saw Meng Huo, riding around like the king of the damned world and _knocking over my bodyguards as though they were nothing to him..._

_He shall not get away with it!_

The rampaging elephant had knocked over one of the towers the Nanman archers used, and, through the red mist, I saw myself leap onto it, dash up the side, off the end onto a building... And Meng Huo was right in front of me. I took off in a flying side kick, with the apparent speed of continental drift but the unstoppability of an avalanche, saw Meng Huo try to block - too late! - felt the kick make contact, saw the monster of a man be forced off his elephant... and nearly fell over as I landed on the other side.

Regaining my balance, something made me swing the nunchucks up and around as I turned, and I caught Meng Huo a glancing blow on the chin. Undeterred, he came at me again, swinging his fearsome gauntlets, but then I was behind him, and raining blows down on his unprotected back. I didn't think, I just fought, as around me, my bodyguards - those who could still fight - fended off the other soldiers. They knew that this had become my fight.

Meng slammed his fists into the earth and I was knocked off my feet, but with barely a grunt of effort, I flipped upright again.. The edge of my fury was wearing off, but I fought on, bitterly determined to finish it. To this end, I performed a series of _bandals_, followed by a butterfly kick, then a back-flip kick, intended to catch him under the chin. He blocked it all, then lashed at me as I landed, forcing me to dodge clumsily. I fell on my behind, jarring my back, but scrambled to my feet and blocked his following assault.

"What's up? Is it getting too hot for ya?" the man bellowed. I glared at him, gritting my teeth and wiping my brow with my uninjured arm. Yes, I was hot, tired, sore, scared, angry as hell - but I wasn't about to give up any time soon. His insult had brought to mind an earlier failure. This monster was no Sha Moke...

"You say that, but you're sweating like a pig! You're no great leader! You're pathetic!"

He roared, to my hidden terrified delight.

"All these men look up to me! They see the man who beat the sense into a load of warring tribes! They see the man who acts when he's angry! And you don't wanna make me get that angry again!"

"You're all talk! These men see a fat, ugly, sweating pig, and they only follow you because you'll fight them if they don't! _There is no respect here!_"

Meng Huo fell silent, that odd type of silence you get when you're too enraged to speak.

"You _dare_ -"

I never let him finish. As he dropped his guard, I leaped forward, nunchucks swinging. I attacked faster than I thought possible, and with every impact grew a ball of ice on the chain holding the two halves together. My penultimate attack had so much force behind it that I span right around, but I just used the momentum to create a stronger finishing move.

I swung the nunchucks at him, but without making contact. The ball of ice flew off at him, and hit him in the chest. He was thrown off his feet, and collapsed to the floor, struggling for breath and grimacing in agony. I turned, grimly satisfied at my victory, but stopped as I glanced red in the distance.

Tong... Oh, god, Tong!

* * *

**A/N:** Don't expect coherence. It is late, I had a crap day at work, and I am tired. Therefore, there will probably be many mistakes, because I only glanced through it.

Also, please don't kill me. Because it only gets worse from here...


	15. Aftermath

**A/N: **Hello again! Yeah, I'm guilty of not updating in too long again. But I'm so happy right now! This story now has over 100 reviews and 3,500 hits! Thank you all so much for reviewing, especially: thebladeofchaos, Bladed Thesis, Rothek the Thief, Qweiaou, and Tsukiyume-Yue. It's wonderful to get so much praise for my story!

**Disclaimer:** It's fun making these random. But today I can't be bothered, so I only own Su Zhi and the plotline.

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I dropped the nunchucks, ran over to his unmoving body, and fell to my knees next to him. I shook him gently, but he didn't wake. I checked for a pulse -

It was there! He was still alive! I checked his breathing, just to be sure, then turned to shout at my bodyguards.

"Mei Mei! Get over here! We need to get him back to the main camp, now!"

I turned back to Tong, and moved his hair so I could see his bleeding temple. It didn't look too deep for all the blood on him. Hearing footsteps behind me, I half-turned, without taking my eyes off the unconscious man.

"Good - help me get him up and -"

Running footsteps behind me became the all-too-organic sound of steel biting into flesh, and then the sound of someone falling. I finally took my eyes off Tong, and saw a breathless Mei Mei lowering her sword and standing over a nearly headless Nanman soldier. I stared at the corpse, then at Mei Mei, but didn't say anything. I was much too exhausted to try and make sense of what had just happened.

"Er... thanks. Can you give me a hand moving Tong to the main camp?"

"Of course, my lady."

"Look, call me Su. You've all earned it."

I felt her astonished gaze on me, but concentrated more on getting Tong upright.

"M-my lady! I couldn't!"

"Please."

"...Okay... Su."

I smiled to myself as we got Tong slung between us, and set off for the main camp. We set off to the north, that being the shortest route, but I hesitated when we approached a base that was still under enemy control. It hadn't really dawned on me that killing - or, at least, incapacitating - the leader didn't mean surrender for the rest of the troops. After all, I'd never really had the chance to hang around in the aftermath of a battle. However, we were saved from stopping by the gates swinging open as we approached.

I blinked. Inside was Ning. He hadn't noticed us yet, as he was busy cleaning up with a group of soldiers, but he looked up as we passed through the gate.

"Su? What happened to Tong?"

"Elephant." I was much too wrung out to elaborate.

He quickly crossed the space between us, and glanced at Tong's injuries before turning to Mei Mei.

"Go and sort out your girls. I'll help Su from here."

Mei Mei nodded, and Ning put Tong's arm around his neck as she ran off.

"It's all clear to the main camp from here, so it shouldn't take us too long to get there. That's probably a good thing, because you look dead on your feet."

"I feel it."

We reached the main camp in silence, and headed straight for the medic's tent. It was quite full, with a dozen soldiers and, to my surprise, Shang Xiang and Lu Xun, all being treated by various medics. The nearest one looked up as we entered, before ushering us toward an empty bed. I carefully laid Tong down on the bed with some relief - not only would he now get the medical attention he desperately needed, but I'd been supporting him with my sore arm, and blood was beginning to ooze out again to trickle down my arm.

I turned away as the medic set to work, rubbing my arm and trying not to move my blistered fingers. On the other side of the tent, a medic dismissed a soldier with one arm in a sling, before looking around and catching my eye.

"Are you injured, my lady?"

I hesitated. Yes, I was injured, but I felt that they should be paying more attention to my downed boyfriend than to me. However, I could see that Tong was in good hands, and nothing would be achieved if we were both injured. I nodded to the medic's question, and let her steer me towards an empty bed, where I sat down.

I stayed silent as she dressed my wounds, not even making a noise when she moved my fingers rather roughly, and caused shooting pains to travel up to my elbow. I was busy watching Tong. The numbing feeling of terror that I had felt when I first saw him collapse had faded, but only enough so that it could be replaced by anxiety. I mean, he'd been knocked out by an _elephant_, for god's sake... And I didn't even want to acknowledge the worst case scenario. I felt completely hollow from fear as it was.

Eventually, the medic let me go, my fingers and arm bandaged up neatly, and I stood up and walked out of the tent. I couldn't have stayed in there for much longer - I couldn't bear to see Tong in such a state, and I couldn't talk to Ning, because he'd left earlier to clear out any remaining Nanman soldiers. I'd just sunk into a crouch at the bottom of a nearby tree when Lu Xun and Shang Xiang exited the tent, Lu Xun being supported by a Shang Xiang with heavy bandages around her right arm. They quickly spotted me, and made their way over, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?" asked Shang Xiang when they were in range. I buried my head in my hands before replying.

"I just couldn't handle being in there any longer. I mean - well, you saw him..."

"Yeah... but he'll be okay, I'm sure of it. It takes more than that to put Tong out of action."

"I know, I know... but it doesn't stop me from being worried."

"What happened to you, anyway?" said Shang Xiang, in an attempt to change the subject. "Someone said that you were on the bridge when it collapsed!"

"I was. I managed to get to the other side just in time, but then those elephants broke through the walls, so I helped to save Sun Quan, then I met up with Tong, then got attacked by that bastard Sha Moke - he slashed my arm, then he broke my Clackers - then went up against Meng Huo."

"So what did you do to your fingers?"

"Blisters from ice attacks. They're nasty when you're not prepared."

"So you can use fire _and_ ice? That's quite impressive. Normally, only strategists or people who train for_ years_ can use more than one element." said Xun, wobbling slightly.

"What did you two do to yourselves?" I asked, nodding at Shang Xiang's bandages.

"Oh, I just forgot about the attack bases. One of those giant arrows caught my arm and knocked me off my horse."

"And I just dodged awkwardly," said Xun, as I winced in sympathy for Shang Xiang. "Dong Tu Na surprised me when I was attacking his men. They say that I've badly sprained my ankle, but that it'll be fine if I rest it up."

"Sun Quan wasn't kidding when he said that it wouldn't be easy, was he?" I said glumly, trying to flex my fingers slightly and wincing.

"There you are, Su!"

We all turned to see Ning running towards us.

"Where'd you go to?" asked Shang Xiang, looking slightly confused.

"Thought I'd go make sure they hadn't set up any more surprise ambushes or anything. I think these are yours..."

He held out the remains of my Clackers, the broken link ragged and bloody. I took them from him silently, thinking vaguely that I'd pocketed them earlier, but wondering more if they could be fixed or not.

"And I also found these. Do you want to keep a hold of them?"

I looked up from my broken weapon to see Tong's nunchucks being held out to me. I hesitated, staring at the weapon as though it was something horrific. Just the sight of them brought along the overwhelming feeling that maybe Tong _wouldn't_ be okay, maybe he'd be permanently injured, maybe... I fought to get a grip on myself.

Shang Xiang must have sensed my internal struggle, because she reached out and took the nunchucks for me. I stared into the empty space where they had been after Ning had gone, watching the slideshow in my head. Damn it, we weren't the perfect couple, but we _tried_. We had our weaknesses, everyone did, but what I felt for Tong... well, if that wasn't love I didn't know what was. I mean, we still felt as strongly for each other after two days together, then two _months_ apart. I really, _really_ hoped that Tong would be okay, because I was beginning to get scared that he wouldn't, even though I knew otherwise... Was this how couples felt all the time?

"You are allowed to be scared, you know. No-one's gonna think less of you for it."

"I... I know."

I breathed deeply a few times, and forced myself to calm down. I had to be strong. There was no question about it - if Tong woke up to find that I was having a nervous breakdown, then he'd blame himself, and things would only get worse from there. I took one last breath, then stood up. My legs tingled from being in that position for so long, but I shoved my Clackers into my pocket again, clenched my right fist (my left one still being far too tender to allow me to clench both), and ignored it.

"Give me the nunchucks." I said, holding my hand out for them. "I'm going to go back in."

Shang Xiang knew better than to question me when I was in this mood, simply handing over the nunchucks without a word. I took them from her outstretched hand, and strode back into the tent. The only people occupying the beds now were a dozen or so soldiers with more serious injuries, a couple of my bodyguards, who looked in quite a bad way - and Tong. I approached his lifeless form slowly, biting my lip. The medics had done what they could, bandaging his head tightly and making him comfortable, but he was showing no signs of waking up. I knew that he'd wake up eventually, but he just looked so small and vulnerable...

No. I had to stop thinking like that. I clenched my fist again, and met resistance from the nunchucks. I glanced down at them, unsure what to do with them while he was still unconscious. I guessed I'd just have to hold them for now.

I knelt down by the bed, and reached out to hold Tong's hand. There was so much I had to tell him - that I loved him, that I'd pretty much sworn off alcohol for life, and that I'd become the target of the man who had slashed my face over six years ago. That I needed him. That I was scared. Scared I'd lose him, scared of this psychopath who was after me again, scared that these two months apart had affected our relationship.

Damn.

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I guess I must have fallen asleep like that, because I was gently shaken awake a couple of hours later. Still half asleep, I shifted my position slightly, wondering why my legs were numb, and half opened one eye. I saw Tong, sat up and smiling down at me, and closed my eye again -

- Before realisation hit me. Tong! He was awake! He was okay! He really was okay! Both eyes snapped open, and I raised my head, instantly awake and with a huge grin spreading over my face.

"Tong!"

"Hey."

I threw myself up the bed at him, and pulled him into a tight embrace. My legs started tingling rather unpleasantly, but I just didn't care. Tong was awake!

"I'm so glad you're alright!" I said, before letting him go. "What happened? I just saw the elephant move, then you were on the floor!"

Tong screwed up his face as he tried to remember.

"Well, I can't really remember, but I'm pretty certain that the elephant kicked me in the head. That'd explain the headache, at any rate..."

"Couldn't you dodge it?"

"I don't know. I can't remember. I only woke up ten minutes ago."

"Oh... well, I'm still just happy you're okay!" I pulled him into another embrace. I couldn't even begin to describe how strong the wave of relief had been when I realised that he was okay.

"Excuse me, my lady? I need to check Lord Ling Tong's injury."

Reluctantly, I let Tong go and sat on the edge of the empty bed behind me, as the medic began to unravel the bandages around his head. While she worked, I began to try and massage some life back into my stiff legs. Eventually, she was done, and as she replaced the bandages, she spoke to him.

"It looks like you might have a bit of a concussion, so take it easy for the next few days, okay? Apart from that, you're fine."

Tong nodded gently.

"Thanks."

The medic turned, and nodded at me.

"He'll be okay."

"Thank you."

She nodded on respect, then walked to another bed. I turned back to Tong -

"See? I told you he'd be okay!"

I turned again to see Shang Xiang and Ning bearing down on us.

"Hey, Ning," said Tong, smirking slightly, "for the record, you have _no idea _what it feels like to be kicked in the head by an elephant!"

Ning winced sympathetically.

"Not surprised you were out of it if that's what happened," he said.

Shang Xiang turned to me.

"I sent your bodyguards to get ready to move back to Jiang Dong."

I nodded.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, you still have to tell me why you have bodyguards," said Tong, turning to look at me as well.

"Huh?" said Ning, looking confused. "They were _your_ bodyguards?"

I looked at Shang Xiang and bit my lip, suddenly worried. How was I going to tell Tong - and Ning - what they'd missed over the past two months? Where was I going to start? I turned back to Tong, and saw the worry in his eyes. This was the last thing he needed right now, but I supposed that there wasn't going to be a better time to tell him.

"I suppose we'd better fill you two in on what's been going on." said Shang Xiang for me, with a sigh.

"You remember how strange it was that the guy who gave me _this_," I said, gesturing at the scars on my face, "left me with my weapons and didn't do much else?"

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Ning, looking suspicious.

"He's back. And we think he's after me again. That's why Sun Quan said I had to have bodyguards."

"What? When did this happen? And how do you know it's that creep?" asked Tong, wide eyed.

"Because of what he did to the spring. You know that spring that's in the woods near the palace? Well, this guy trashed it." Shang Xiang said grimly, before briefly describing the state we had found the spring in.

"And we know it was the same guy as before 'cause there was a picture stuck to one of the trees with a crude arrow." I said, not quite daring to meet the eyes of either Ning or Tong.

"Yeah. This picture was of a girl with long brown hair, and with two big scars on her face."

"Su..." Tong whispered, eyes begging to be told he was wrong.

"That's not the worst of it. We went straight to Sun Quan after we'd seen it, then to my room. All these people were crowded outside, and when we got to the front..." I stopped, unable to continue as the memory of my room returned.

"He'd been in her room. He'd smashed up her mirror and chair, he'd torn up her bedclothes and pictures - it was... it was unreal."

Ning was silent, his jaw hanging in shock. Shang Xiang was shaking her head gently, as though disbelieving her own memory. I was trying not to shake as I relived the horrendous scene. And Tong... he just sat there, pale as a sheet and real terror in his eyes. I forced myself to continue.

"In the middle of the floor... Tong, I'd had an artist draw a picture of us, 'cause I was missing you... He'd taken that picture, and he'd torn you off. And... and... he'd written... he'd..." I trailed off.

"Oh, god..." said Tong.

"He'd written 'you're mine'." finished Shang Xiang.

There was silence as the men absorbed the horrific news.

"How..." Tong croaked, before swallowing, "How long ago was this?"

"A week ago. Pretty much a week ago today." I said quietly, before sinking onto the edge of Tong's bed. It wasn't that my legs had given out, although they were feeling pretty close to it, it was that I didn't know what to do. I honestly didn't know what to do with myself.

I felt Tong touch my arm hesitantly. I turned to face him, eyes dull with fear, and saw him smile.

"It'll be okay. I don't know how, but you'll be fine."

"Yeah," said Ning, finally snapping out of the shock. "We ain't gonna let this guy get you again. I remember the state you were in the first time. No-one does that to my friends and gets away with it."

I smiled slightly.

"Thanks. At least now I don't have to worry about you two doing anything stupid."

"Would we - okay, okay, I get your point." Ning protested, before I could give him a look.

"Ling Tong! You're awake!"

We all turned to see Sun Quan and Lu Meng enter the tent.

"How are you feeling?"

"Alright, for the fact they think I've got concussion."

"I'm sure it's nothing that will stop you from fighting." said Quan with a smile, before turning to face me. "It looks like congratulations are in order for you again, Su. I hear that you managed to beat Meng Huo on your own, even though you were down a weapon." I smiled vaguely, feeling the weight of my broken weapon in my pocket. "However, I must insist that, for your own safety and for the sake of Wu in the face of these recent attacks on you, that you go nowhere on your own. From now on until we catch whoever is behind this, whatever you are doing, you are not to be on your own!"

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**A/N: **Blargh, I don't like that ending. It's much to abrupt, plus it's midnight, I'm getting up early tomorrow to go to Scotland for the weekend, the cat is making me paranoid that there's someone else in the house, and I need to check this for typos (as much as I can be bothered). So I'm going to go and work on the rest of the story after I hunt down some typos. Please review to prove that my lack of sanity is worth it!


	16. Sparring

**A/N: **Muhahaha, velcome to ze next installment of zer story, Varrior of Art! For some reason, I am thinking in a vaguely Transylvanian accent, possibly because of zer lack of sleep, but that's frankly getting stale already.

Right! Onto the usual thankies for reviews and such - you all rock my mismatched socks like crazy! Thanks to thebladeofchaos (if you like Su, go read his story called Friends in Warfare, it's fantastic!), Evility, Bladed Thesis, Rothek the Thief, XXTakaraXX, yuyu4848, Changgirl, lilchinkkviet, and wei2vile, and also to everyone else who reads my story (Over 4,000 views!). I love you all!

**Disclaimer: **If anyone can give me a valid reason (apart from 'because I felt like it') for me to carry on with these, feel free to tell me.

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I wasn't about to protest, but Tong immediately sat to attention.

"Hang on a minute. Apart from making sure Su keeps safe, what's being done about this creep?"

Quan hesitated, and Meng whispered something in his ear.

"We're going to conduct a search to see if we can find anything that might help us track him down. Until we get back, there's nothing we can do other than make sure Su is always with someone. However," Quan gave us all a brief smile, "I don't think that will be a problem. It's good to see you awake, Tong."

He and Meng walked to the entrance of the tent before hesitating.

"Oh, and we move back to Jiang Dong tomorrow morning. Make sure you're prepared."

Shang Xiang smiled at me as Quan left.

"I'll take care of your things for you."

"Thanks."

"Do you want to keep a hold of your weapons, or shall I pack those for you as well?"

"Huh? Oh... no. " I slipped off my sheathed wrist blades, which I'd quite forgotten about, and handed them to Shang Xiang.

"Hey, where are my nunchucks?" asked Tong, suddenly realising they were missing.

"I found 'em at the enemy main camp. Gave 'em to Su." said Ning, looking at me. I glanced around myself. I knew I'd had them on me when I came back in here last night... Oh, there they were. I picked them up from beside Tong's bed, where they must have fallen when I was asleep, and returned them to their owner.

"How did you beat Meng Huo without your Clackers, anyway?" asked Tong, as he tucked his weapon back into its pocket. "I never found out, what with being unconscious and all."

"Oh, I just used your nunchucks. Hope you don't mind."

"Well, I can hardly object now, can I?" he said with a smile.

"I suppose we'd better be off to pack up, then," said Shang Xiang, turning to leave. "I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on after two months apart. Come on, Ning."

I watched them walk out of the tent, and turned back to Tong.

"You know, I never really got the whole story about how that creep who's after you again gave you that scar in the first place." said Tong, settling back against the pillows.

"There's not really much to tell. Four days after you lot went to Chi Bi, I went exploring around the palace. I came to some woods, thought I heard something move, went to investigate, then he came at me from behind. I caught him once with my Clackers, turned back to the forest, then he caught me, pinned my arms to my side, and shoved a rag with something on it that knocked me out in my face. When Da found me, he'd done this and vanished."

"And he'd left you with your weapons. Apart from slashing your face, he did nothing."

I gave him a look.

"Hey, that much I picked up by myself." said Tong, holding his hands up defensively. "I'm not all good looks, you know."

"You're not even that," I said, smiling and giving him a playful punch on the arm.

"Hey, I'm injured here!"

"Tong, your forehead does not extend to your shoulder."

"I might have landed on it funny, for all you know."

"Tong, I saw you collapse. You only got a glancing blow, thank goodness."

"Do I detect a hint of relief that I'm not mortally injured there?"

"Surely not. You must have been imagining it." I said, smiling.

"You do realise that we've got two months of relationship to make up for?"

"You didn't hold out long, did you?" I said, before pulling him into an embrace and kissing him hard. Well, it _had_ been two whole months.

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We were back at the palace at Jiang Dong, and in just over a week, I had been glued to Tong's side. I'd found that, during the border checks, Ning had apparently been a relentless madman, attacking the enemy at random, and several times forcing his way out of easily avoided sticky situations with his might alone. Tong, on the other hand, had calmly surveyed each skirmish, and utilised a small squad of men to quickly and efficiently neutralise the problem.

Tong would probably have carried on along those lines, had I not suddenly snorted from the pent up pressure of trying not to laugh in his face. After laughing hard for a few minutes, I had finally calmed down enough to be able to talk again.

"Tong, I know that, as my boyfriend, you have to make yourself seem perfect, but you have to admit that only a week dead slug would believe that story!" I had told him, giggling.

A week later, while Tong and Ning were 'sparring' - or, in anyone else's language, trying to beat the living snot out of each other - me and Shang Xiang went out for a ride. Autumn was just giving way to winter at this point, and an early frost had rimmed every leaf with a thin layer of ice.

"Alright, why were you so desperate to drag me away from seeing my boyfriend and my best friend attempt to murder each other?" I asked, my breath condensing in the air in front of me.

"Because I think I'm getting somewhere with Ning at last!"

I turned in my saddle to face her, as we trotted past a field of frozen crops.

"Oh? And how drunk were the both of you?"

"Completely stone cold sober!" she announced, grinning hugely.

"Okay, now I'm interested. Spill it!"

"Well, it was kinda during the battle..."

"Are you blushing?"

"What? Nooo..." Shang Xiang gave a nervous giggle, her cheeks practically glowing red. "Anyway, it was after the south-western area was cleared of soldiers. I don't think you noticed, but Ning was, like, less than ten metres away from you half the time. That was when the attack base caught me off guard."

"Oh, and let me guess - Ning ran over, helped you to your feet, valiantly fought off anyone who so much as glanced maliciously in your direction, then personally escorted you back to the main camp because you wanted to see how far you could take the 'princess in distress' thing?" I asked sarcastically, raising my eyebrow.

"In a nutshell, yeah!"

I stopped dead, although obviously my horse kept on moving.

"Are you -"

"I'm serious! He ran over, killed some Nanman so I'd have room to breathe, then got me back on my horse and saw me back to the main camp!"

"Are you sure it wasn't someone else with bells around their neck, a hell of a lot of tattoos, and very spiky hair?"

"Positive!"

I tried to imagine Ning doing something like that, but the mental image of the ex-pirate not immediately diving head-first back into the fray as soon as Shang Xiang was clear of the rest of the soldiers was one that I couldn't really contemplate.

"Are -"

"Yes! Ask him yourself! He'll probably try to make up a whole load of excuses, but he can't deny it! Even Zhou Tai saw!"

A large grin was slowly spreading over my face. Strange though it was to think of Ning in a relationship, I had to admit that he and Shang Xiang sort of fitted together.

"You know, this -"

"My Lady! Lady Sun, Lord Sun Quan wishes to speak with you!"

A messenger had just come panting up behind us - he'd had to run quite a way, seeing as we'd been moving at a brisk trot for some minutes, and he looked exhausted.

"Oh, damn, what does he want now?" muttered Shang Xiang, turning her horse around. "We'll talk later, okay, Su?"

"Yeah, okay." I said, before she rode off at a gallop.

When she was just a blur in the distance, I turned back to where we had been going. At the cold, hostile horizon. That's when I remembered that I wasn't supposed to be on my own outside of my room.

When I arrived back at the palace, having ridden at a gallop all the way, I headed straight for the stables. There was always someone there. I slowed the horse down to a trot as I rounded the building, my face frozen and my ears burning from the cold, and I glanced up at the training arena as I did so. Even though it was a fair distance away, I could see that Ning and Tong were still fighting, with no sign of letting up at any point soon. If I was quick, then I could nip over there before they actually did kill each other, and be in time to dole out consolations where they were needed.

I reached the stables, and directed my horse into an empty stall. I quickly dismounted, and began to fiddle with the straps on the saddle with numb fingers -

"You're in a hurry today, my lady!"

I turned to see the stable boy wiping his hands on a rag.

"Well, I'm not supposed to be on my own these days, and Shang Xiang - sorry, Lady Sun - had to run off to see what Lord Sun needed her for."

"I know that Lady Sun was certainly in a hurry!" he said, grinning happily. "She came in here, jumped off her horse, and left! I'm just rubbing her down now!"

I smiled. I liked this man. He was always cheery and smiling - it was a nice change from the typical servant attitude of 'look at the floor and keep right on going'.

"You know, I don't think I ever got told your name."

"Oh, I'm sorry, my lady! It's Bai Yu! Rather unusual, I know, but I do so believe that it suits me!"

I smiled back at him.

"Well, I expect you already know that I'm Su Zhi. And you don't have to call me your lady all the time - at least, not while it's just the two of us."

"Oh, I couldn't, my lady! That's too far above my station for me to presume such a formality!"

"Not even if I insist? I hate having people think I'm better than them just because I'm an officer of the Wu Imperial Court. Just call me Su."

Bai put the rag down, and came over to help me get the saddle off my horse.

"I'm honoured that you seem to think so highly of me, my la - sorry - Su! Most generals would just ignore us servants. But I'm sure that their business is of the utmost importance, and I won't have it said that I said a word against them!"

I laughed.

"You don't seem to have a very good impression of us officers, do you?"

The saddle came off, and was hung on the wall underneath the other saddles. The reins followed soon after, and I continued to talk to the cheerful stable boy as we brushed down the beast.

"Why did you decide to become a stable boy, anyway? Either you really like horses, or you really hate people, and I can't see it being the second one, somehow."

"I just came here for a job, m - Su! When they asked if I liked horses, I said yes, and here I am! If they'd have asked if I liked people, maybe I would have been in the palace!"

I laughed again, before giving the horse one last brush, putting down the implement and dusting off my hands.

"I suppose I'd better head back to the others now. Sooner or later, they're going to realise that I'm not there."

"Are you sure, Su? I still have Lady Sun's horse to rub down, and horses just don't have what it takes to make a good conversation!"

I giggled.

"No, I don't want them to get into trouble over me. Bye!"

"Goodbye, Su!"

I have him a wave, before walking out of the stables, turning the corner, and breaking into a run in the direction of the training arena. It looked like Tong and Ning had both got much better at sparring while they were away on the border check, because I could see that they were still duking it out in the ring. Ning had been made to switch his sword for a wooden replica, because if he did get a lucky shot in, then he'd be in trouble, both with Quan and me. Tong also had a wooden replica, but seeing as they weren't much different from his usual weapons, this didn't hamper him too much.

I reached the edge of the crowd, who were cheering them on, and tried to act like I'd been there all the time. On the arena itself, I watched as Ning delivered a quick swipe, which was expertly blocked. Tong then quickly retaliated with a series of strikes and kicks, but just as Ning tensed to go into another assault, Tong gave a quick flick of his nunchucks, which knocked the sword right out of Ning's hand to land some ten feet away.

The applause was deafening - they had managed to make the fight last over half an hour, and I'm guessing that neither of them held back even the tiniest bit. It had been a good fight all round.

Tong picked up the sword as Ning flexed his fingers, then they both clapped each other on the back and walked towards the didn't take long for them to notice me - well, I was waving my arms in the air like a loon every time they looked in my direction - and I gave Tong a hug as he reached me.

"Looks like you two were having fun in there," I said, smiling. They had both broken into a sweat, and were breathing quite heavily.

"I never back down from a challenge from a pirate," said Tong, grinning.

"You do know I went easy on you, right?" said Ning, rather more breathlessly than Tong.

"Yeah, right! I _was_ watching, you know. Tong beat you fair and square!"

"You're in a good mood today," said Tong, as he slipped his arm around my waist.

"Oh, you know how it is on days like these - you always feel more alert and lively."

"I dunno, I think I need to sit down after that last round," said Ning, wiping his brow with the back of his arm.

"Getting too old to keep up, are you?" asked Tong, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

Ning opened his mouth to retaliate, but was interrupted by a messenger running up to us.

"My Lady Su, Master Ba wishes to give you his regards, and inform you that your weapons are ready to be picked up!"

I grinned. I'd gone to Master Ba, the Royal Steelworker, at my first opportunity, and told him exactly how I'd wanted my Clackers to be improved, once they had been fixed. I could hardly wait to see how he'd used his expertise this time.

"Tell him I send my thanks, and that I'll be there directly."

The messenger nodded, and ran back the way he had come. I turned, to see that Ning had settled himself against the base of a nearby tree, and giggled.

"Seeing as I don't think the old man over there will be joining us, shall we go and see Master Ba?"

"Yeah, I could do with stretching out my legs a bit," said Tong, grinning. We left Ning to try and recover after his defeat, and wandered through some of the many ornamental gardens on the way towards the Steelworker's building. It was still quite cold, although even if it had been warmer, we still would have held each other as close. I really was in a surprisingly good mood for the fact that, for the last week, I had been constantly accompanied in everything that I had done. I mean I'm not a loner, by any stretch of the imagination, but I do like being on my own sometimes.

"How did you say you wanted your Clackers improved?" asked Tong, as our destination came into sight.

"You'll just have to wait and see!" I said, a huge grin on my face. If I had been asked, I really couldn't have explained why I was so absurdly happy, but Tong just gently shook his head, grinned at me, and pulled me closer still.

"Ah, my Lady Su! Come in, come on, I have something here for you!"

We had neared the main metal worker's building now, and Master Ba had come out to greet us. I gave him a big grin, slipped out of Tong's grasp, and ran forward to the Royal Smith.

"How are they? Do they have -"

"My lady, patience! They have everything you requested. If you would like to follow me..."

He lead the way into the building, which seemed quite dingy in comparison to the main palace, but I didn't care. There, taking pride of place on a cushion on a long bench, were my Clackers. I gasped in shock and delight, before slowly walking over to them and carefully picking them up.

They were the most beautiful things I'd ever seen - the perfectly spherical hollow metal orbs now sported absolutely exquisite engravings of tigers and dragons, among other things. The link was now a sturdy piece of chain, but cunningly disguised by a length of red silk that had been wound around it. Out of battle, they would be the perfect finishing touch to my outfit. In battle, they would become fantastically lethal, and the best part was that no-one could slice through the new and improved link on these.

I laughed, and gave them an experimental swing, narrowly missing Tong, who had caught up with me as I had been examining the detail of the dragon.

"Hey, careful!" he said, raising his hands in defence against any more unexpected swings. "Is that them?"

"Yep!"

"Can I have a look?"

I handed them over, beaming so widely I was surprised the top of my head was still attached. Tong turned the Clackers over, and nodded at the engravings.

"Master Ba, I'm sure your work gets better and better every time I see you. These are a fine example of your skill with steel." said Tong, smiling. Master Ba bowed.

"My lord, I'm sure I am not worthy of such high praise from one such as you."

"Nonsense!" I said, taking the Clackers back from Tong. "These are all I asked of you, and more. Thank you."

Master Ba bowed again, and we left the building. I swung my new Clackers around my neck, and grinned.

"I can't wait to try them out now," I said happily.

"Well, there's always the sparring arena,"said Tong, grinning impishly.

"Are you mad? These are made of metal! If I swing them right, I could kill someone!"

"Well, it's either that, or wait until the next battle, and the land's looking pretty peaceful to me right now."

"Well, I'll just have to wait, won't I?"

"You could always get some wooden replicas made to use, if you're scared of hurting someone."

"Yeah, but they're not the same as the real thing."

Tong shook his head, grinning.

"Now you're just being awkward."

"Would you still love me if I wasn't?"

"Well, we're never going to find out at this rate."

I hit him on the arm, still grinning to myself. With Tong within smacking distance, I'd completely forgotten about my psycho stalker.

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**A/N: **I'm very tired and my fringe is poking me in the eye at the minute, so you'll understand if I'm brief: REVIEW. For the love of Jesus in a sporan, REVIEW MY STORY. And now I depart for sleep.


	17. The Stable Boy

**A/N: **Argh, it's been so long since I last updated, but I promise it's only because I've reached an uber corny part, and I've had quite bad writers block for the past month or so. But I'm back, baby! Oh yeah!

The usual round of applause, love and virtual cookies for Bladed Thesis, thebladeofchaos, lilchinkkviet, Changgirl, MaChaChao, Rothek the Thief, Evility, and ShadowSchyte. I hope y'all enjoy those virtual cookies, they aren't easy to get these days.

Anyway, to get back to the actual story, it's time to find out JUST WHO the stalker is. Probably most of you have guessed it already. If not, then I need to work on dropping hints, although I will admit that I don't think I really gave ANY hints whatsoever.... (Incidentally, I've edited the chapters where Su hooks up with Tong so it isn't as sudden. Feel free to give me feedback.)

**Disclaimer:** Incidentally, I have a real life set of Clackers right here...

* * *

For two months, everything was good. I loved Tong more than ever, I teased Ning relentlessly about his loss in the sparring arena, and received regular updates from Shang Xiang about any possible advances with the boisterous ex-pirate. There was no sign at all of my stalker, and everyone in the palace was beginning to relax into the new age of peace that was developing.

I was happy, as well, because I was developing a good friendship with Bai Yu. I know you weren't supposed to get too friendly with the servants when you're a general, but I really liked the guy. During what snatches of conversation we could grab, he'd always make me laugh, and there was just something infectious about that cheeky grin of his - I didn't know what it was. We started to talk on a more regular basis, then daily.

That was when a tiny crack developed in the picture perfect setting.

I'd just said goodbye to Bai, and I was walking back into the palace when Tong suddenly appeared next to me.

"Where'd you just pop up from?" I asked, surprised but happy.

"I just went for a walk around the palace grounds, and I saw you talking to the stable boy."

"Bai Yu? We're just friends, that's all."

Tong looked uneasy. We walked on in silence for a bit until he managed to fit the words to the question that had been preying on his mind.

"I know you talk to him every day, but when did you find out his name?"

"A couple of months back. Why are you asking?"

"No reason, no reason..." he said, but I could read him like a book at times.

"If this is about the amount of time I've been spending with Bai, then you have nothing to worry about. He's a good friend to me, but I can promise you that it's nothing beyond that. I love _you_, not the stable boy. You know that."

Tong smiled briefly before resuming his glum countenance.

"I know, but all the same, I'd appreciate it if you spent less time with him. I mean, he is only a servant, after all."

"I still don't understand this gap between the officers and the servants, but I'll do it if it makes you happy."

"Thanks."

I brought up the conversation with Shang Xiang later that day.

"Tong doesn't really seem himself today. I know he's a bit iffy about me talking to Bai so much, but I talk to loads of other men - and women - and he doesn't object to that." I said, as we sat on a tree branch together.

"He did look a bit off earlier," agreed Shang Xiang. "Maybe he just feels threatened by the fact you're spending more time with the new male in your life than with him."

"You make it sound like I'm having a sordid affair or something."

"You aren't, are you?"

"What? No! I wouldn't do that to Tong!"

Shang Xiang put her hands up defensively.

"I was just making sure! I mean, I'm sure Tong knows that as well, but maybe you just need to confirm that with him."

"I've already told him as much. In any case, I'll try and spend less time in the stables."

"Yeah. Don't worry - if anything's certain about that man, it's that he'll bounce back easily enough."

This worked for a few days, until I had to go into the stables to get my horse. Bai Yu was there, rubbing down a horse as per usual. He looked up as I entered, and half-smiled.

"Hello stranger! I haven't spoken to you in a while. Been avoiding me?"

"Hi, Bai. No, I haven't been avoiding you, it's just my boyfriend. He isn't keen on me spending too much time talking to you, that's all."

"Ah, he's getting jealous of me stealing his time with his girl!" Bai Yu said, his cheerful grin back in place as he gave the horse a pat and moved on to the next one.

I stood just inside the doorway and watched him quietly. It confused me as to why Tong was jealous of the man. Bai Yu didn't appear to have a malevolent bone in his body - he wouldn't hurt a fly. Even as I watched, a fly buzzed onto the flank of the horse he was tending to, but he simply quickly caught it, and released it out of a nearby window.

"You're being rather quiet today, Su!" he said as he walked back to the horse. I sighed, and sat on a crate near the stall he was working in.

"It isn't like Tong to be jealous of the people who I talk to, not even if they do happen to be servants. I mean, I like our conversations, but I don't want to lose my boyfriend."

"That is a conundrum there, Su! Have you spoken to Lord Ling Tong since he told you not to talk to me so much?"

"I haven't had the chance, Bai. Every time I go to talk to him, he gets called away, or something comes up that needs taking care of. I'm getting worried that he's getting fed up of me."

"Oh, I doubt that, Su! Any man would be a fool to push you away!"

"Well, all men are fools at some point."

I sighed again, and then stood up.

"I'd better be off soon, I told Shang Xiang - sorry, Lady Sun - I'd meet her in the courtyard in about five minutes. Can you give me hand with the saddle?"

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It didn't take long for the situation to get worse. A couple of days after my latest conversation with Bai, I finally got the chance to have a proper talk with Tong.

"Tong, we need to talk."

"I know."

We were in a pretty much deserted corridor near the Mess Hall, and Tong wasn't looking happy.

"It feels like you're avoiding me, Tong. We haven't spoken in over a week, and I've hardly seen you since then. What's the matter?"

"You're still talking to that stable boy. Every time I see you, you're yakking away to him as though you've forgotten I exist!"

"Well, that proves how much attention you've been paying, because I've only spoken to Bai once this week!" I said, my hackles raising.

"Why are you speaking to him at all?"

"Why? Because, believe it or not, I do occasionally need to go into the stables to pick up my horse, and because I consider him a friend, even if he's only a servant! I don't see why you don't get that!"

"I don't want you talking to him, Su!"

"Really? I don't see how you can order me around like that!"

"Because I'm supposed to be your boyfriend!"

I stared at him in injured disbelief.

"Just what is it about Bai that you hate so much?" I asked, quietly.

"I - I just don't trust him. I have a bad feeling about him and I don't want to see you getting hurt because you trust him so much you can't see it." said Tong, letting his shoulders slump slightly.

I shook my head slightly.

"So, what you're saying is, the whole reason you don't like my friend is because you don't trust me to see a fault which isn't there? I - I'm sorry, Tong, but I thought you knew me better than that."

I turned to leave, a lump forming in my throat as Tong tried to explain himself. "No, Tong. Just - just don't."

I walked around the corner without a backwards glance, but as soon as I was out of range, I broke into a run. Tears began to spill over from my eyes, but I did my best to blink them away as I ran on, until I was well out of the palace and in one of the little wooded areas.

I came to a halt by one of the easier-to-climb trees, and swung myself up until I was completely hidden by the foliage. When I was sure no-one could see me, I hugged my knees to my chest as best as I could, and cried.

Why did Tong have to go and make things complicated, just when they should have been at their best? Telling me he had a 'bad feeling' about Bai, but that I couldn't see that the friendly stable boy wasn't quite right? Getting so uptight about a few snatched minutes of conversation? I wouldn't have believed he was capable of saying such things if I hadn't just experienced it.

The biggest irony, however, was the one that stung the most. How _ironic_ that Tong had said he didn't want me to get hurt, when, right at the minute, it was his words that pained me the most.

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

"Just drop it, Shang Xiang. Can't we talk about something else?"

We were sat in one of the ornamental gardens surrounding the palace, and Shang Xiang just could not let go of the fact that Tong and I had fallen out a few days ago. I was starting to get utterly fed up of people talking about the same thing all the time, to be honest.

"Sorry, Su. I just don't want to see you -"

"-Doing something I'll regret later on, I swear you've all had a meeting behind my back to agree on that phrase."

We sat in a companionable, if awkward, silence for a minute or so, before I sighed.

"I do still love him, in spite of everything. He just seems to be convinced that Bai's going to try to hurt me, but that I'm not going to see it coming until it's too late. But I know Bai! I don't think it's possible for him to hurt anyone." I said, before burying my head in my hands. "Ugh... God this is a real mess..."

"Hey! Su!"

I looked up to see Ning running towards us. A couple of days before this whole mess had started, he'd gone off on a two week sail up the river, to 'freshen up his sea legs', and had presumably just returned after having met mostly favourable weather. Without even looking, I knew that Shang Xiang was imperceptibly sitting to attention.

"What's this I heard about you and Tong falling out? I leave you two alone for two weeks, and this is what happens..."

"Have the servants been talking?" I asked glumly.

"Try getting them to talk about anything else! Who is this Bai Yu, anyway?"

"The stable boy. Su's friends with him..." said Shang Xiang.

"But Tong thinks I'm spending too much time with him and that he'll end up hurting me because I can't see through him. But Bai wouldn't hurt me! I know him!"

Ning sat down on the other side of me to Shang Xiang.

"The way I see it, Tong's scared of losing you, but that's just what's happening."

"Then why is he driving me further away?"

"I don't think he wants to. He just wants you to be safe. Why don't you try trusting him? His instincts have been right before."

I stared at Ning. First Tong, and now my best friend? What right did they have to judge Bai? They didn't even know him!

"I - I have to go." I said, before standing up and striding off, my fists balled. I heard Ning and Shang Xiang shouting after me, but I ignored them both, and strode on. There was only one person who I wanted to talk to right now.

I reached the stables within a few minutes, just to find it empty. _But Bai Yu never leaves the stables..._

A flash of white caught my eye. A note... I quickly crossed the distance to where it lay, weighed down by a brush but fluttering gently in the wind, and picked it up, my mind a whirl of emotions.

'Su, because you've been feeling down lately, I've prepared a surprise for you. Meet me in the forest between here and the town. - Bai.'

I blinked, confused. I'd never known Bai to leave the palace grounds, but a surprise was just what I needed right now.

It was easy enough to slip through the palace and start heading to the forest, but it took me a couple of minutes to realise just which piece of nearby forest Bai had called me to.

_Why had Bai chosen the place I'd been permanently scarred seven years ago to meet?_

By the time the forest came into view, I knew I'd been right. I began to feel apprehensive as I approached the treeline -

_Did something just move? Was that rustle natural or not?_

"Bai? Bai, are you there?"

I reached the treeline very hesitantly, fighting off the overwhelming urge to pull my Clackers from around my neck. Venturing beyond the first few trees, I dropped into a defensive stance.

_It was too quiet. There were none of the little sussurations that signified life among the other background noises._

I was about to give up and go back, when a twig snapped behind me. Heart pumping wildly, I span around, but saw nothing - then, just like seven years ago, strong arms clamped mine to my sides, and a foul smelling rag covered my face.

_It was the stalker! He'd sent us a warning, but then waited until the fuss died down to strike! And, this far from the palace, no-one would be coming to my rescue..._

All this flashed through my mind in an instant, and fear gave me unnatural strength as I fought my captor again. Tears came to my eyes, and my brain worked feverishly to try to get me out of this desperate situation.

_I can't rely on anyone coming to my rescue - no-one knows I'm here except for Bai - was Bai okay? What had this psycho done with him? Oh, why did the bastard have to choose here and now to attack? I wouldn't even have been here if not for... the note... left by Bai..._

My eyes tried to widen in shocked realisation, but whatever was on the rag had worked its magic again. I couldn't think straight any more, but I knew who the stalker was. My eyelids drooped, and my struggles came to a reluctant halt. My last thought before I was pulled down into the darkness was that Tong had been right all along.

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Unlike the previous times I'd fallen unconscious, I went straight from sleep to wakefulness in a matter of seconds. I tried to stay limp as I fished desperately for clues as to where I was, but gave up when I inadvertantly shivered as an unexpected draught blew against my face.

Well, I wasn't in any obvious pain, which was rather unexpected in the circumstances, but I could feel restraints on my wrists, and my shoulders ached in a dull sort of way. I knew that my feet were touching the ground, but beyond that, I knew I would have to open my eyes for more clues.

The first thing that struck me was how dark it was. This was not friendly forest. This was the dark, dank, foreboding type, complete with a multitude of shadows which could have hidden a small army. The next thing was that, while my hands were indeed tied securely to the tree behind me, my legs didn't appear to be impeded by anything.

The third thing to catch my attention, however, was a small patch of slightly darker silence, which sat directly across the small clearing to me. A knot of fear and confusion clenched in my stomach, but it was overlaid by a thin veneer of anger. I wasn't feeling particularly forgiving right now.

"I know you're there! You may as well have the decency to show your face!" I shouted, sounding a lot braver to my own ears than I felt. A figure slipped out of the darker patch of silence and into the light, for want of a better word. I stared at his smirking face, my world suddenly turned upside down by the confirmation of my fears.

It was Bai Yu, the stable boy.

* * *

**A/N: **Bah, I'm so tired right now and I'm going to be dead by the end of tomorrow. This chapter is so short! And also probably doesn't make much sense until you read the next chapter. Whatever. I'm too tired to say anything else, except to say **PLEASE REVIEW!** I need some nice comments to cheer me up after I die tomorrow. Bye! Bed time for me...


	18. Confrontation

**A/N: **What's this? Can it be the next chapter of Warrior of Art? Is that damned cliffhanger about to be resolved? Surely not!

Yeah, I know I left this for far too long - nearly 2 months, in fact - but I came across some major writers block which utterly killed my muse for a while. But I've finally recovered! Although, before I start, I want to give my thanks to the following people for reviews, etc.: thebladeofchaos, Changgirl, Bladed Thesis, lilchinkkviet, shyangel06, brinapingu, Evility, (insert-user-name-here), Its_all_over_but_the_crying, theFallen07, Baran3, and Lady Aescwyn. Thank you all for bearing with me through the last 2 months.

Anyway! On with the next chapter, which comes with a standard "please don't kill me!" warning!

**Disclaimer: **(sobs) I own nothing - oh, wait, I own Su Zhi and Bai Yu. Guess I do own something.

* * *

"Why, hello there, Su! Fancy meeting _you_ all the way out here..."

"B-Bai... why are you doing this?" I asked weakly. What anger I'd had had been shorn clean away by the shock of seeing someone whom I'd trusted so much emerge from the unforgiving shadows.

"Oh, come _on_, Su! Don't be so naive! Don't you remember that message I left in your room?" he sneered, coming closer. I could only stare in horrified disbelief. The cheerful, harmless man I'd come to like so much had become... a monster! His voice was harsher and more commanding, and the way he stood, his expression, especially the way he was leering at me was much more menacing than I'd thought him capable of being.

"Wh-what do you want from me?" I asked, fear and shock making my voice shake uncontrollably.

He walked right up to me, and looked me straight in the eye.

"You."

I turned away from him, tears welling up in my eyes, but he grabbed my chin and roughly dragged my head around to look at him again.

"Oh, don't cry. You'll ruin that perfect face of yours... Well, I suppose it _used_ to be perfect..." He ran a finger over my scars, and I flinched at his touch. "You know, I never originally intended for it to be like this. That day, oh, too many years ago now, that day when you disturbed the peace in this part of the forest... Well, I_ had_ to fight back after your display of _violence_..." He grabbed one end of the Clackers, hanging around my neck as per usual, and yanked them off. "So simple, but so painful in the wrong hands... Although I doubt you have a proper appreciation for quite _how_ painful!"

Before I could even think, the other end of the Clackers smashed into the right side of my face. I cried out as the pain radiated through my head, and barely heard his next words, as he threw the weapon down at the other side of the clearing, through the rushing sound in my ears.

"I didn't want to do that to you, but maybe now you'll understand why I... reacted as I did. Well, I'd had my revenge, that was going to be it... but something about you wouldn't leave my thoughts. It took me the best part of six years to plan what I was going to do, before I could see you again, and by then I was _obsessed_ with you. I couldn't stop thinking about you! So, I got myself a job as a stable boy, and the rest, as they say, is history..." He gave a dark little chuckle, before continuing. "Just how long would it have taken me, do you think, how _long_ to get to this stage of my plans if you hadn't decided to become friends with the _cheerful_, _harmless _little stable boy?!"

The tears streamed down my face in shocked and scared silence. This... this man had utterly betrayed my trust from the beginning, had lead me on with some _act_, and I hadn't seen through it... And, because of that, I'd walked right into his trap...

_Tong had been right. He'd been right all along, and all I'd done was accuse him of being jealous and push him away..._

"I won't say it was easy, keeping up that stupid act when all I could think about was how much I _wanted_ you, but I managed it. And now... the wait is over. Don't bother to scream. Do you honestly think there's anyone around to hear you? Then you're more naive than I gave you credit for!"

He strode forward and pressed his lips onto mine, hard. I tried to back away, the tears coming thick and fast now, but with the tree right behind me, there wasn't anywhere to back away to. My arms were tied up, so I tried to bring my foot up, only to find that my legs weren't responding properly. After what felt like an age, he backed off, but only so that he could see what he was doing as he began to claw at my top. I took a deep breath, and screamed as loudly as I could. My mind was racing, trying to find a way out of this, but I was too absolutely terrified to think straight, and utterly helpless anyway while I was tied up. My only option left was to scream, and hope that someone, anyone, heard me, before this man - this man...

It was just too horrifying to think about. I carried on screaming in between great sobs of fear and exhaustion and utter, utter helplessness - Bai didn't even bother to stop me, he was too busy groping my chest and other available areas of skin - my brain shutting down on the living nightmare, trying to block it out completely -

Bai suddenly stopped in his assault, and cried out in pain. My eyes were screwed tightly shut, tears still spilling from the corners and great sobs trying to escape from me. In the increasingly distant reality, I heard someone shouting my name, before the bonds on my wrists were released, one at a time, leaving me to fall forwards into someone's arms, too tired and scared to stand up properly... Grunts of pain and anger were coming from my left, but they didn't register as anything important in my traumatised mind.

I felt hollow, fragile, cold... I may just have been rescued from the nightmare, but I was far from being saved as easily.

The grunts of pain stopped, although the grunts of effort continued for a few seconds longer. With half an ear, I listened dully to the conversation.

"Ning! Come on, we have to get Su back to the palace, now!" There was a chord of terror in the speaker's voice.

"Bastard!... How is she? Is she okay?" This one was more anxious than scared.

"I don't know! I don't know, alright?!" Panic was creeping in.

There was quiet for a minute or so, other than my sniffles, then:

"Hey, Tong, aren't these her Clackers?"

"Yeah... I'm pretty certain she was hit with them..."

My sniffles came to a halt as the memory became completely blocked, and I felt the person who was supporting me pick me up, bodily, and start walking, with me still clinging tightly onto them. I didn't see any point in opening my eyes, but presumably it was back in the direction of the palace. Then, they turned briefly.

"Bring that bastard with us. Sun Quan will want him punished."

I probably blacked out at that point, falling into a blissfully dreamless sleep that lasted until I was back in my own room. I blinked slowly at the ceiling with dull, dead eyes, scared to think of anything in particular in case I triggered the memory. That's all there was in my mind - the knowledge that something utterly terrifying had happened to me, that had reduced me to a cold, distant shell of a person. A feeling of absolute terror and hopelessness had drowned out every other emotion, and had left me feeling vulnerable and helpless. I rolled onto my side, facing the door, and curled into the foetal position, hugging my knees to my chest. It didn't really make me feel any better.

The door opeded quietly, and someone entered.

"Su? Are you awake?"

I didn't respond, but the person walked further into my room.

"Are you alright, Su? Su?"

I finally turned my eyes to see who had entered, and saw Shang Xiang recoil in shock.

"Su... Oh, my god..."

She knelt down by my bed, and reached out to touch me, before deciding against it. She had turned quite pale.

"Su..." she began, before swallowing, "Su, Ning and Tong told us about... about what happened. And they told Quan. He's going to get what's coming to him for betraying your trust like that, that bastard Bai Yu-"

_Bai Yu, the stable boy, stood chatting with me while he rubbed a horse down, before reaching out and hitting me with my own weapon -_

I flinched, physically and mentally, as the repressed memory lashed across my tortured mind like a white hot whip, and curled into a tighter ball. The sudden shock had completely caught me off guard, and I stared through Shang Xiang, focusing on nothing in particular as I tried to stop it from happening again... Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door open again, and Tong and Ning enter.

"Shang Xiang? How is she?"

"Not good. That bastard did a pretty good job of traumatising her - I've never seen her like this before -"

"Damn it!"

"Calm down! This is Su we're talking about. She'll pull through, but it'll take some time! Is it any surprise, after what she's been through today..?"

"At least that bastard can't touch her from where he is. What's Quan going to do about it?"

"He doesn't know yet. The whole palace is pretty much livid about this - I don't think anyone ever saw something like this happening. Quan's had to put guards in front of his cell to keep people from actively killing him, but I don't think they're particularly bothered either way."

An awkward silence fell, but I made no move to dispel it. Eventually, Shang Xiang sighed, and stood up.

"I'm going to talk to Quan."

"Okay." said Tong, somewhat glumly. Shang Xiang quietly left the room, and Tong took her place beside the bed. I uncurled slightly, and transferred my haunted gaze onto him.

He looked dreadful. His hair was a mess, his clothes more wrinkled than usual, there were the beginnings of bags under his eyes, and his face had taken on the sunken quality of those who had seen raw terror up close. Through the straitjacket of my own trauma, part of me waved a flag of remorse for being the reason he was so worried.

"Su..." he began, before swallowing, "I - I'm sorry. It's my fault all this happened. I couldn't see what Bai Yu wanted -"

I flinched again at the mention of the name, as though he had physically struck me. Painful memories were struggling to escape from the seething mess of my mind, and wallowed just below the surface like horrifying icebergs. I did my best to shut them out.

"Su," said Ning, coming forward as Tong stumbled over his words, "Right now, this is going to sound like the stupidest thing ever, but it does help if you talk about it. If you keep it all inside, you'll end up doing something you'll regret. Yeah, it hurts like hell now, and it probably won't ever go fully away, but if you let the bastard hold this over you forever, then he's got exactly what he wants, hasn't he?"

Tong turned to look at him.

"How do you know all this?"

Ning sighed heavily, and sat down on the foot of my bed.

"The hard way. Look, no-one else in the palace knows about this, and I want to keep it that way." He looked uncomfortable as he continued. "I used to have an uncle. He was a manipulative bastard, but when I was 13, I didn't know that. In all of my village... well, no-one wanted to be involved with me in any way if they could help it. But there was one boy who would actually talk to me, make me feel it was worth putting up with it all... And my uncle... He made me kill him." He paused, a look of distaste coming across his face as he recalled the event. "My uncle told me it would be fun to try and swim across the river, so me and my friend went down there. It had been raining more than usual, so the current was strong. My friend went first. He got as far as the middle, then the current sucked him under and he drowned."

"But how does that mean your uncle killed-" Tong began.

"Because he was the village expert on the river! He was the one who knew everything about that damned river, there was no way he didn't know how strong the current was..."

I shifted slightly so I could see Ning. His jaw was set, and he was staring grimly at the wall.

"All I could do was watch him die. He was the only person in my village who gave me a chance, but my uncle... I didn't tell anyone what happened - what the hell could I have said that they'd have listened to? - but they got suspicious when he didn't turn up. The finger got pointed at me, and it all built up until I turned around and killed my uncle. I ran away, got found by some pirates... You know the rest."

There was silence for a minute or two.

"... I can see why you wouldn't want the rest of the palace knowing that." said Tong, looking rather pale.

"Yeah, well, it's history now. The point is, if I'd have told someone what had happened, it might never have got to that point."

I loked at the floor. I could see the sense in his words, but he just couldn't understand. It was fair enough to say all that with hindsight, but my memory was just far too painful to bring to the surface so soon. The fear of doing so threatened to choke me, which just made me feel all the more vulnerable. Maybe, if I waited, the pain would dull enough for me to face my memories...

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A week passed, but I was no closer to being able to talk about my trauma. I didn't talk to anyone, I had no appetite, and all I wanted to do was curl up on myself until I vanished. Pretty much every single officer in the palace had been in to see how I was doing, but none of them could break through the emotional barrier I'd put up.

At the same time, I could feel a pressure building up inside me. I had too much emotion dammed up, but I wouldn't let myself let any of it go, andit was eating away at me from the inside.

It wasn't long before the dam burst.

Without quite knowing how or why, I found myself on the roof of the palace, swaying gently in the breeze. Whatever had driven me up here had vanished, and I felt empty again. Except... except for a longing, a desperate need for something I couldn't quite put my finger on...

I leaned over the edge of the building, the wind whipping at my hair as I teetered precariously. The ground seemed a long way down from here, and there was only the packed earth to break my fall. For the first time in what felt like ages, I felt deadly calm. Up here, there was nothing to stop me-

"Su!"

I turned, the wind bringing tears to my eyes. Standing a few meters behind me, hand outstretched in warning, was a figure... I turned away from the edge, and blinked away the tears...

It was Tong. Tong was there, reaching out for me, _trying to warn me, coming to my rescue when I thought it was too late, when I'd given up hope..._

The spell broke. I took a step toward Tong, but then my legs gave out, and I fell to my hands and knees. Great sobs welled up inside me, before strong arms enveloped me. My whole body shook as all the dammed up emotion flooded out, and I clung to Tong as though he were about to vanish. Ever since this whole business had started, all Tong had done was watch out for me, and first I'd pushed him away, then I'd done _this_ to him... What had I done to be given such a wonderful man?

"I'm sorry!" I blurted in between sobs. "I'm so sorry, Tong, I never meant to - I'm sorry!"

"Ssh, it's okay, don't worry... I'm here now, it's okay..."

Gradually, my wails lessened, until I was left sniffing. Tong hadn't moved, even though his shirt was now sodden from my tears. Without a word, he helped me to my feet and off the roof, using a small trapdoor that I didn't even know was there, but that I must have used to get up here in the first place.

Waiting at the bottom of the stairs was what seemed to be everyone in the palace. There were even a few servants watching, their mouths open as the spectacle unfolded before them. I was far too upset and embarrased to look any of them in the eye, but even in the state I was in, I could feel the relief and concern which seemed to radiate around the crowded corridor.

Tong and me walked straight through them all, and down a nearby flight of stairs onto a corridor I semi-recognised. It didn't take long to get back to my room, and Tong sat me down on the edge of my bed. I did my best to wipe away the tears, shaking uncontrollably as I did so.

"I - I'm sorry..." I mumbled, staring at the floor as Tong knelt beside me. "I'm really sorry!"

"It's okay, I'm here now." he said.

I finally brought myself to look at him, and I could see that he was just as shaken as I was, if not more. After all, he had just stopped me from commiting suicide. I looked away again, and bit my lip. I hated seeing Tong so down, and I hated myself even more for being the reason why.

"Tong..." I said, quietly, "You... you were right. About everything. About... About _him_." We both knew I was talking about Bai Yu. "You were right, and I should have trusted you from the beginning. Now we're in this mess, and it's all my fault."

"No, it isn't -"

"It is! You tried to warn me about him, but I didn't want to listen, even though I knew you were only thinking about me. It was just that he acted so friendly all the time, and - and I refused to see him for what he really was. And then he left a note saying he had something to show me in the forest, and... and..." I trailed off.

"I know about the note. It was how we found you so quickly. Ning came and found me after you went, then we both went to the stables. It was a good job you left it where it was."

"Yeah... But when I got to the forest... when..."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I want to talk about it! I feel like I _have_ to talk about it. Do you remember what Ning said? About his uncle? It's like that for me. If I don't talk about it now, then... well, next time, you might not be able to stop me."

Tong went slightly pale. I lowered my eyes to stare at my knees.

"...When I got to the forest, it was the same one where he got me the first time. And it was all the same. I heard something move behind me, turned around, and... and... He got me from behind, and clamped a rag over my face... Something on it knocked me out..."

I came to a halt. This was, without doubt, the hardest memory I would ever have to relive. Tong stood up to sit on the bed next to me, and put his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into his chest protectively as I continued.

"When - when I came to," I said, my voice shaking uncontrollably, "I was... I was tied to those trees, but I couldn't move at all. I - I was scared. Terrified. Then he came forward. I just... just couldn't believe it was him. Then - then he got - he got my Clackers. H-he hit me with them. He told me all about his plan and what he'd done to try and get me. Then - then..."

Tears were coursing down my face. I just couldn't continue, but tong simply hugged me closer to him, enveloping me in his skinny frame. "And then we came." he said, simply. I nodded, my eyes squeezed shut and trying to hold back my sobs. I felt exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

"I love you." I murmered, as my eyelids became heavy.

"I know. I love you too." he replied softly.

* * *

**A/N: **Hahahahahaaaaah, I bet none of you expected that! Heh, nah, you probably all saw that coming. But now I must be off to get rid of the emo vibes coming from this chapter! I hope this was worth the (very long) wait!


	19. Proposals

**A/N: **I'm back, baby! So put the flaming torches and pitchforks away (I know, I tried to make it a less-than-two-month wait, but things just didn't work to my favour, mojo-wise)! Actually, after reading this chapter, you may know better why it KILLED me to write it (I hate larding on the corn, but it couldn't be avoided), and the couple of chapters afterwards. But fear not! I'm back to writing about battles and all that lovely gory stuff, so the chapters should be coming a bit more often now! Hooray for gore!

But, before the chapter starts, I can't forget to thank all you lovely people who gave me reviews and story alerts and all sorts of other goodies: thebladeofchaos (read his story, Friends in Warfare, my OC beats the crap out of his), Its_all_over_but_the_crying, Rothek the Thief, Changgirl, Bladed Thesis, shyangel06, LadyGreySun, and KristySama. You all know I love you guys.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Dynasty Warriors, Tong would still have nunchucks in DW6. Why, Koei? Why?

* * *

_It was just me and Tong, holding hands and laughing as we sauntered through the woods. We passed into a clearing, birds twittering, the sun shining down through lush green foliage... Tong murmured something_, _and I turned to look up at him, smiling contentedly. He caught my chin in his hand and my lips with his -_

_But it wasn't Tong, it was Bai Yu, pushing himself on me my arms tied up in the dank and abysmal forest, and no-one knew I was there, I was utterly helpless -_

I awoke with a start to find Tong shaking me gently. I quickly sat up and clung to him as the nightmare faded, and my breathing and heart rate returned to a more normal pace.

"Are you okay, Su? You were talking in your sleep again."

I nodded, not quite at the speaking stage yet.

"It was that nightmare again, wasn't it?"

"...Yeah."

I relinquished my hold on Tong, and flopped back onto my pillows with a sigh. A month earlier, Sun Quan had sent Bai Yu into exile, after having his tongue removed 'to protect others'. I had been worried even through my relief - he was finally gone from my life, but I knew that I'd never be able to fully shift the feeling that, one day, he might come back and finish the job.

"I know it's only been a couple of months since... since_ then_, but why do I keep having that nightmare? It's almost making me paranoid to go to sleep."

"Well, there's nothing we can really do about that."

I sighed.

"I know... What time is it?"

"A couple of hours before dawn, I think. Why?

I sat up in bed again, and breathed out heavily.

"Because I really don't feel like going back to sleep. I need to take a walk."

"I'll come with you, then. I'm not all that tired myself."

"You sure?"

"Come on. The night's warm enough, and we don't want to wake up the others."

"Alright, but turn around while I get changed."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. And no peeking!"

"You ruin all my fun."

I grinned into the dark as I slipped off the bed, padded over to my wardrobe in the dark, and quickly changed out of my sleeping clothes. Tong and I had been sharing a room for a few weeks, now - since not long after my attempted suicide, in fact - and we had been moved to a larger room with a double bed, in a corridor not far from our old rooms. As such, I'd learned of the staggering amount of clothes that Tong apparently owned, and he had learned of the staggeringly small amount of clothes that I had. We each had a wall to ourselves - Tong's pictures and nunchuck rack were on the wall with the door, and my various accumulated drawings covered the wall opposite, even though a large part of it was taken up by the window. The wall not taken up by the bed or either of our belongings was occupied by our shared dresser and two wardrobes. It was supposed to be one each, but with Tong's excess of clothes, half his stuff had ended up on my wardrobe rail.

"Are you done yet?"

I grinned into the darkness.

"Yes. Are you gonna get changed now?"

"What, you thought I was going to go out dressed like this?"

I turned to him, and my grin widened. Even with the lack of light, I could make out his white, sleeveless vest top, which was far too short to meet with the top of his mid-calf length white trousers. He looked as though his clothes had shrunk on him as he'd been sleeping. I got a mental image of him in a forest dressed as he was, and giggled.

"The thought never crossed my mind."

Tong snorted.

"Yeah, right. Come on, if I can't look while you get changed, then you can't while I get changed."

I pulled a face at him, then turned away. I heard the rustle of fabric behind me, and sneaked a glance over my shoulder-

"No peeking, Su!"

"I wasn't peeking, I was stretching out my neck."

"You're a terrible liar.

I stuck my tongue out at the wall in front of me, but didn't peek again until the fabric had stopped rustling.

"Let's go," said Tong.

We walked quietly out of the room, and went down the hall with Tong's arm around my waist, and my arm around his. We didn't speak until we were out of the palace, and into the cool spring air.

"Well, where are we going now?" asked Tong, eventually.

I giggled.

"I don't know. How about the lake?"

"Why not?"

We walked on, talking about nothing in particular, and simply enjoying the cool, still night and each others company. Before too long, we were on the outskirts of the forest surrounding the lake, and I was smiling happily into the branch-filled darkness. Tong pulled me closer to him, and turned to face me.

"God, I love you," he murmured as I turned to look up at him. "You're even more beautiful under this light."

"Even with these scars?" I asked, playfully.

"Even with those scars."

"You're not so bad yourself, you know."

"'Not so bad'? You don't think much of me, do you?" he said, raising an eyebrow and grinning cheekily. I gave him a quick smack on the arm.

"You know what I mean," I said, grinning.

"Yeah, you're right there," he said, before bending down to capture my lips with his.

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A month passed uneventfully, then two, then a year, and before I knew it, it was early 219, and Tong had insisted on blindfolding me and leading me somewhere. I knew we were outside of the palace, but just _where_ outside of the palace was a different question altogether.

"Where are we going?" I asked for the tenth time.

"You'll see," said Tong, and I could tell from his voice that he was grinning. I felt the air around me changing, becoming cooler and more open, just as a tree branch brushed against my upper arm. Wait, were we at the lake?

In answer to my silent question, Tong stopped me and took off my blindfold. It _was_ the lake, and on the end of the pier...

Tong went ahead of me, and picked up the little box. One look at his nervous grin, and my heart began to pound in my chest. Was he - Could he be -?

"Su..." he began, and paused nervously to lick his lips. "Su, I've known you for eleven years now, and even though we didn't exactly meet in the best of circumstances, I... I've really come to appreciate you for... for you. Ever since that incident during Chi Bi, I think I've known I loved you, and..." He came to a halt, and laughed nervously. "God, this is hard..."

I said nothing, my heart beating fit to bust and my eyes wide. _Was he... going to propose to me?_

Tong walked up to me, and went down on one knee.

"I'm not sure how this is supposed to go, exactly, but Sun Quan has given his blessing, and... Su Zhi, will you be my wife?"

I felt like I was going to faint from happiness. My heart skipped a beat as he opened the box to reveal, lying on a bed of red satin, a solid gold ring, with a tiny ruby in the middle, flanked by a couple of slightly bigger diamonds.

With shaking hands, I reached out to pick up the beautiful ring. Tears of sheer happiness began to prickle in the corners of my eyes as I slid the ring onto my finger. It was a near perfect fit.

As I held my hand out to admire it, Tong stood up, grinning nervously.

"Well? Is that a yes?"

I turned to look him in the eyes, a huge grin plastered on my face.

"Of course it's a yes! It was always going to be a yes!"

Tong laughed with relief, before I caught him in an embrace, and we shared a kiss.

Behind us, there was a sort of muffled scream of excitement, and Shang Xiang jumped down from her hiding place in the dense foliage of a nearby tree. As we broke apart, she bounded over to us, still squealing with excitement as Ning dropped down from the next tree along, grinning amusedly.

"Oh my god! I can't believe he actually did it! He proposed! And you said yes! And now you're going to get married! There's going to be a _wedding_! I can't believe it!" she squealed in one breath. I laughed as Ning approached, dusting himself down.

"How long have you two been up there?"

"Tong wanted someone to be the witness, and I got dragged into the tree with Shang Xiang." Ning explained, grinning.

"Let me see it! Let me see the ring!" said Shang Xiang. "Tong wouldn't let me have a look earlier! Come on!"

Still laughing from sheer euphoria, I offered her my hand as she inspected the ring.

Ning gave a low whistle as Shang Xiang continued to squeal.

"That must have cost a bundle, even for you, Tong."

"I had to save up for a year," said Tong, grinning modestly.

"It's so gorgeous! Oh my god, you're so lucky, Su! I mean, you're going to get married! Oh, I just have to go and tell the Qiao sisters!"

"They already know. I asked them if they could help out with the wedding preparations," said Tong, chuckling slightly.

I laughed.

"Was there anything you didn't think of?"

"You saying no."

Still laughing, I pulled Tong into another embrace, to the sound of Ning laughing and Shang Xiang's excited squealing. I'd never been so happy as I was right now. Until the wedding, this would remain in my mind as the best day of my life.

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The news spread through the palace like wildfire. How I hadn't picked up on the clues, such as servants talking about it excitedly before going pointedly hushed as I passed, was beyond me. The minute I'd walked back into the palace, I'd been ambushed by well-wishers and excited Qiao sisters. My wedding was causing more of a stir than when the Qiaos married Sun Ce and Zhou Yu in a double marriage, gods rest their souls.

The actual wedding itself was set to take place in a month, and the whole palace was buzzing with activity and anticipation. Da and Xiao Qiao were loving their new role as wedding organisers, which Shang Xiang had joined without a moment's hesitation, and they came to update me every day on what was going to happen.

There were going to be bouquets of flowers everywhere you looked. they were going to lay a strip of red cloth from my room to the Great Hall, a huge room used only very rarely for special occasions and ceremonies, so I wouldn't dirty my shoes or dress. There was going to be a huge feast after the marriage itself. There would be a day of celebration down in the city. Everything would be perfect.

I was almost glad I wasn't part of the preparations - I wouldn't have known where to start. About the only part I was involved in was with my dress.

Shang Xiang and both the Qiao sisters insisted on coming with me to get my dress sorted, roughly ten days before I was set to be married. By this point, they were insanely excited, and some of it was rubbing off on me.

"Ooh, I can't wait for the big day! It's going to be so perfect!" squealed Xiao as we rode into town in the direction of the dressmaker.

"The servants are all geared up to get everything ready in time! Oh, it's going to be so exciting!" said Shang Xiang, grinning hugely.

"I know! You've already told me about all the preparations taking place! And, if anything, I'm the one who should be excited! It's only _my_ marriage!" I said, smiling. Truth be told, I was actually quite nervous, but, in a way, it only added to the general air of euphoric anticipation that surrounded both the palace and the city.

"Have you seen Tong recently? I've never seen him look so nervous!"

"Oh, I think he just wants to make sure everything's perfect on the day."

I hadn't actually seen Tong for a few days now, except for in the bedroom, but I knew that he was nervous as well. For the last week before the wedding, he would be sleeping in his old bedroom while I stayed where I was, as was the tradition. In the meantime, we were both too nervously excited and preoccupied with arrangements for much quality time together, but we both knew it would be worth the wait.

Xiao gave off an excited squeal as the dressmakers came into sight.

"We're here! Oh, and she makes just the most _perfect_ dresses here!"

"You should have seen the amazing job she did on the Qiao's dresses! They were absolutely to _die_ for!"

"But now she's got another 25 years of experience under her belt! Honestly, Su, your dress is just going to be _fantastic_!"

I let their chatter wash over me as we approached the horse trough outside the building opposite the dressmakers. I could see in through the doorway, though, and what I saw was simply amazing.

I only had a second to glance in, though - as soon as I jumped down from my horse, Xiao grabbed my arm and practically dragged me into the shop, while Shang Xiang and Da tied up the horses. From what the girls had been telling me, I had expected to be surrounded on all sides by beautiful pieces of the dressmaker's work, but, instead, I was met by a large, spacious room, with a couple of half-made dresses hung on dressmaker's dummies, and various pieces of fabric, beads, tools - oh, you name it - on the walls. The dressmaker herself was peering closely at one of the dresses as she worked on some minute piece of detail or other, but she turned to face us as we entered. Her face split into a huge grin as she recognised us.

"Ah, my ladies! This certainly is a wonderful occasion! The first royal marriage since - Oh, yes." She turned to face Xiao. "I am truly sorry for your loss."

Xiao seemed to deflate slightly as she replied.

"Th - thanks... But, come in! This is Su's time! I don't want to spoil her wedding by being all upset!"

The dressmaker smiled gently.

"Of course." she said, before turning back to me. "Welcome to my humble business. My name is Yunzu Mei, and I have been making dresses for the better part of thirty years -"

"Not just dresses, works of art!" said Shang Xiang as she entered with Da in tow. Yunzu smiled again, showing a glimpse of straight, white teeth.

"It is truly kind of you to compliment me so, but I couldn't aspire to the level of an artist."

"Oh, you always put yourself down! There's a reason we keep coming back to you, you know!"

I giggled, bringing Yunzu's attention back to me.

"But, before I can do anything," she said, pulling a piece of cord with knots in it at even intervals out of her pocket, "I'll need to take some measurements."

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By the time we returned to the palace, I couldn't stop grinning. After taking the measurements, Yunzu had pulled out a small pad of paper, and done a rough sketch of how the dress would look when it was complete.

There was silk. There were millions of beads. There would be whole panels of intricate stitching and detail on both skirt and bodice. There would be netting under the red, floor-length skirts. There would be long, thin sleeves. There was even going to be a corresponding hairpiece. My wedding dress would look amazing.

_I_ would look amazing.

There was nothing that could ruin my perfect day.

* * *

**A/N: **Ye gods, someone pass the corn-overdose vomit bucket... Obviously, there was no way to avoid this corntacular chapter (apart from... not marrying them. Ever. But nah, had to be done), and the next chapter is a lot worse. I may pass out from corn overdose.

Yes, these chapters are the ones that murdered my mojo and made me HATE. CORN. SO MUCH. Heh, not really. But I don't do corn. Toodle pip, people! (Yes, I've had sugar.)


	20. The Perfect Day

**A/N: **Holy bejeesus, I've left you guys hanging a while since that last chapter, and I'm really so sorry! My mojo got distracted by shiny things and cute but undeniably psychotic little kittens who aren't kittens any more, and I've just and so managed to drag it back to the land of Su traumatisation. So here's the next chapter! One which killed me to write but hopefully which doesn't kill you to read!

Although it wouldn't be fair to continue without my round of thankies and virtual cookies, many of which go to thebladeofchaos for giving me some much needed inspiration, and for keeping my OC in the game by traumatising her some more in his story. If you haven't already, I command you to read it! It's called Friends in Warfare. Go on! This story can wait for a few more hours.

Back with us? Alrighty, then the rest of my thankies etc. go out to, in no particular order, Beautihul Miko, shyangel06, Changgirl, wolf-gardian, Bladed Thesis, DianaS824, Bola, Jamaican Witch of the earth, and to everyone else who didn't review, but who have read this story all the way through and waited patiently for this chapter to emerge from my brain. I love you all! And I hope you won't want to kill me for taking forever and a day to get this up...

**Disclaimer: **I own Su Zhi, I own Bai Yu (although he doesn't show in this chapter, I think), I own Yunzu Mei the dressmaker, I own my crazy random sense of humour, and that is all!

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I woke up, sat up in my bed, stretched - and then remembered. I remained perfectly still for a minute or so, hardly daring to move in case the realisation got scared off.

It was today. The morning I'd been impatiently waiting for for the last couple of months had finally arrived.

I'd hardly been awake a few minutes when the door opened, and Shang Xiang poked her head into my room, a look of extreme and barely contained excitement on her face. Upon seeing I was awake, and grinning nearly as much as she was, she gave off an impossibly high-pitched squeal and came inside, closely followed by the most hyper and giggling Xiao Qiao I'd ever seen, and a much calmer, but still excited, Da Qiao.

"It's today! It's here! Oh, I just can't believe it!" said Shang Xiang, bouncing in excitement.

"Neither can I!" I said, getting out of bed and standing up, a huge grin on my face.

"Come on! We need to get you ready for today, already!" said Xiao, as she beckoned a few servants into the room. I watched in happy bemusement as they silently filed into the en suite bathroom, each one carrying a bucket of perfumed water.

"I bet Tong's getting pretty nervous right about now!" said Shang Xiang, as the buckets were emptied into the bath, and the servants left.

"He's not the only one!" I said as I got ready to get into the bath. "You could cut this atmosphere with a blunt sword!"

The girls all chattered amongst themselves as they bathed me, and I let my mind wander. I just couldn't believe that today was the day! But it wasn't half making me nervous. What if something went wrong? What if I tripped and ruined my dress? What if -

"Come on, Su! Don't space out on us now! Time to get dried!"

The girls didn't give me much time to think after that. As soon as I stepped out of the bath, they inundated me with questions and scented oils, asking me which one I preferred and where I wanted it on my skin. Da, who had been towelling my hair dry, smiled to herself, before asking me how I wanted my hair. Shang Xiang was asking me question after question about makeup, and Xiao had gone back into the bedroom to set out my undergarments.

I answered them all as best I could, but, to be honest, I didn't know enough about hair and makeup to make any valid contribution. I just pretty much let them get on with it.

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"Okay, we're done! You can look now!"

I went and stood in front of my mirror, grinning excitedly, but my jaw fell at what I saw.

Da had done my hair absolutely beautifully, the long auburn strands twisted, teased and tucked into a nest of elegant curls, all held up by some hair styling miracle, and clustered on the crown of my head. As a finishing touch, Da had attached the hairpiece Yunzu had made (it had arrived earlier this week) to the right side of my head.

Shang Xiang had done wonders with the makeup as well. White powder had lightened my complexion, and all but hidden my scars - only a faint suggestion of them was left. My eyes were a smokey grey, with a hint of purple in the outer edges. My cheeks were a slight shade of red, and my lips were a bold crimson shade which looked absolutely stunning.

"It's... it's absolutely perfect! Oh, you've done such an amazing job!" I said, turning to the girls with tears of joy prickling at the corners of my eyes.

"Don't go getting too amazed, you haven't even seen your dress yet!"

I turned again to see Xiao and Yunzu Mei standing in the doorway.

"Yunzu! Is it ready?" asked Shang Xiang, her face lighting up.

"Of course, my lady! Ten days is more than enough for me to create a wonderful dress!" said Yunzu, moving aside so we could see the dress.

I didn't get much of a look at it before I was putting it on, but I glanced in the mirror as Yunzu was making the final adjustments, and what I saw took my breath away.

Acres of material must have gone into this dress. The base fabric was a beautiful red satin, but on top of this was layers of silk, beading, and hand sewn detail. The neckline was a sweeping V; stylish, but just short of making me look wanton. The sleeves were snug against my skin, and full length, with a loop at the ends to put my middle fingers through, thereby reducing the chance of the material wrinkling as I moved around.

Yunzu stepped back to check the alterations, and tears of pure joy began to tumble down my cheeks. Turning to the girls, I saw they were all crying too, and gave them a huge, if decidedly wobbly, grin.

"Thank you - Thank you all so much for doing this for me..."

"Oh, don't start all that, you'll have us all off!" said Shang Xiang, wiping her eyes fiercely. I laughed, before turning back to the mirror, and trying to repair the damage my tears had caused.

"Oh, come here!" said Shang Xiang unexpectedly. Turning back to the girls, I was pulled into a tight embrace with Shang Xiang and the Qiao's, with Yunzu looking on in amusement. As we all stood back again, she spoke up, smiling.

"If you ladies don't mind, I must be getting back to my shop. I have work to be getting on with."

"Thank you for all you've done, Yunzu. This dress is just - well, it's everything I'd hoped it would be! You really have earned your reputation!"

Yunzu bowed, smiling to herself, then quietly left the room. I stood, staring at the door frame for a bit, before I was shaken out of my reverie.

"Oh! They'll be here to accompany you to the Great Hall soon! Let me sort your makeup..."

"Don't you lot need to get ready?" I asked, trying to stay still for Shang Xiang.

"We _are_ ready! It's customary that anyone not involved in the wedding process should be dressed plainly, to make sure everyone's paying attention to the ceremony!" said Shang Xiang.

"But you _are_ involved -"

"Yeah, but we're still going to dress in plain clothes so we don't show you up!" giggled Xiao as she smoothed down her robe.

In the distance, I could hear tambourines and bells getting closer, and the butterflies in my stomach stirred. I turned to face the girls one last time.

"I guess this is it, then..."

"Oh, Su, I just know that it will be perfect! Don't worry about anything!" said Shang Xiang.

"I can't believe it! It's really here! Oh, you lucky woman!" squealed Xiao.

Da smiled to herself.

"If it helps," she said, "try not to think of all the 'what if's'. It'll just make you needlessly nervous."

"God, you lot, I don't know whether to kiss you for being wonderful, or kick you for getting me so choked up!"

"Neither! They're nearly here!"

"Go on, Su!"

"You'll be fine!"

I turned to face the doorway, the sound of the tambourines ringing in my ears, and grinned when Lu Xun appeared in the doorway.

"My lady," he said, bowing low and holding out a hand, "Would you grant me the honour of escorting you to the Great Hall?"

I nearly laughed to see the young strategist acting so out of character, but managed to keep my control. I took his hand with one that barely trembled at all, and replied, "I would be honoured."

Xun lead me to the front of the procession, but I only had the chance to glance back at it before we set off. Just like the girls and Xun, the procession was dressed in rather plain robes and garments, but there were half a dozen servants banging the tambourines and other noise makers. Everyone seemed to be grinning, and, as we set off in the direction of the Great Hall, so was I.

It didn't seem like long before the doors to the Great Hall were in sight, and, as I recognised the person stood outside, waiting for us - for me - I couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

Gan Ning, as the person who had known me the longest (only by half a day, but it still counted) and who knew me best, had been asked to give me away at the ceremony. As it was, he was standing outside the doors looking rather awkward in smart, crimson trousers, a red shirt with silver detail on the collar, and his hair floppier than usual as he had forgone the usual band with feathers. He looked so completely unlike himself that I couldn't help but giggle slightly.

He gave me a somewhat awkward smile as I approached, and moved forward to acknowledge us. I could see that the boisterous man was rather uncomfortable in the smart clothes, but the fact that he had willingly left his comfort zone - for me! - spoke to me more than mere words ever could.

"I can't believe it's finally today," he said by way of greeting.

"It's hardly any more real for me," I said, grinning as the procession behind me reached a crescendo. Ning gave me a thumbs up, before the servants fell silent, and the doors to the Great Hall opened in ponderous silence.

Ning and I turned to face the doorway as it was revealed, shared one last glance of anticipation, then began to walk to the front of the hall, where Sun Quan was stood next to a huge ornate altar. It was covered in opulent rare wood and gold leaf, and looked magnificent, but this wasn't what caught my attention and held it fast.

Standing a short distance away from the magnificent altar was Tong, a look of incredulous amazement on his face as he saw me. I nearly didn't recognise him at first - he looked so completely different to how he usually did. His long, dark hair was worn down, and was hanging around his face, shimmering gently in the light from the windows. He wore a beautiful scarlet silk shirt with full length sleeves, and golden detail on the cuffs, collar, and bottom right; trousers which had obviously been made specially for him, with slightly flared bottoms, a sash in the middle, and smart black shoes that gleamed as they moved. The outfit was so breathtakingly perfect and so very - so very Tong - that I almost forgot why we were there.

The rest of the procession, which had followed us through the doors, melted away into the congregation, who were respectfully stood as Ning and I made our way to the front. They remained standing as we reached the altar, and turned to face Tong. He approached us slowly, before bowing low - first to Sun Quan, who reciprocated with a brief inclination of his head, then to Ning, and finally to me. Ning returned the bow slightly awkwardly, before taking my hand and holding it out for Tong to take.

A shiver ran up my spine as our fingers met, and I didn't even notice Ning fall back into the watching congregation. I shared a loving glance with Tong for all of a second, before we turned to the altar, and knelt down on the cushions that had been placed there. Then, and only then, did our audience sit.

Sun Quan gave us both an encouraging smile, before looking up to address the mass.

"Let us begin the sacred ceremony. We are all gathered here under the watchful eyes of our ancestors to witness the joining of Ling Tong and Su Zhi in marriage..."

I just knelt there, grinning nervously through my makeup. I knew I wasn't supposed to move much during the ceremony, but I just wanted to gaze at Tong and see that look of pleased amazement in his eyes again... As if in response to my silent desire, Tong squeezed my hand gently, and my smile became even bigger.

God, I really did love this man - I couldn't believe that we'd even made it this far, especially with our... disagreeable first impressions of each other. And then he'd proposed, and he'd asked the Qiao sisters to prepare everything for today... If it wasn't for him, then I wouldn't be getting married today. What wasn't there to love?

The ceremony passed as though it were a dream. Sun Quan lead us through the rituals of lighting the incense, offering our thanks to our ancestors, and then through our promises to each other. It all seemed too surreal to take in, but before I knew it, me and Tong were at the head of a great procession leading to the mess hall, where the cooks and servants had been very busy preparing a feast, the likes of which I'd never before seen.

There was every type of meat under the sun. There were exotic fruits and rare vegetables, surrounded by and in top of and even baked into every Chinese delicacy you could care to think of. There were vats of vintage wine, and enough _sake_ to keep even Gan Ning happy, and it was all set out on one long table in the middle of the hall. At the other end to the doors we had entered by were some musicians, and as soon as we arrived, they threw themselves into playing a wonderfully upbeat tune that just made me want to laugh and dance and cry with joy all at the same time.

I glanced up at Tong to see the same look of wonder in his eyes, as, all around us, people began to fan out into the room.

"This sure beats the normal setup in here, hmm?" I said, grinning.

"You can say that again. But, then again, when was anything you were involved in ever 'normal'?" Tong teased.

"Oh, shut it, you," I said, grinning. "Let's see if we can get some food before Ning eats it all."

Hand in hand, our new rings glittering under the light from the windows, we made our way over to the food table. Everything was simply delicious; the meats tender, and the fruits succulent. I had no idea how much money the Qiao's must have spent on this, but, for today, nothing mattered but us having fun.

It wasn't long before the party really took off. As soon as everyone had satisfied their stomachs, they began dancing, laughing, and talking loudly to each other over the music. Everywhere I looked, people were enjoying themselves, and truly having fun. The whole vibrant mood of the hall made me laugh out loud, and I felt Tong turn to look at me as I carefully wiped a tear of joy from the corner of my eye.

"It's really been an amazing day so far, hasn't it?" he said, smiling.

"It just makes me so happy, seeing people have so much fun. I mean, in this age of war, people have lost their homes, their friends, even their families. But a day like today just makes everyone see that it isn't the end of everything. They're putting their fears on hold just so they can enjoy the moment. It's just so - so..."

"I know. It makes me happy, too. I mean, look at Ning. He's probably been through more than most people go through in a lifetime, but give him the chance to get really off his head on _sake_, and he's the life and soul of the party."

I glanced over at Ning. He'd already made quite a dent in the _sake_ supply, from the look of it, and was dancing with a flushed Shang Xiang in the middle of a crowd of laughing people.

"They certainly look like they're enjoying themselves," I said, smiling happily as I watched them.

"Well then, shall we join them?"

I turned to look at my new husband, and he held out his hand to me.

"May I have the next dance, Lady Su?"

I giggled, and placed my hand in his.

"Why, I would be honoured, Lord Tong."

It was like magic - as soon as we began to dance, so did everyone else, and the skirt of my dress billowed out magnificently with every pirouette, beads twinkling like the stars themselves.

During a slower part of the music, I danced close to Tong as we waltzed around the room.

"I never thought I could be as happy as I am right now," I said, looking Tong in the eyes.

"You deserve every second of it," he replied, his eyes twinkling. "Although, the Qiao's are responsible for planning this feast."

"I know, but you were the one who asked them in the first place!" I said, grinning as we slowly span around the room. Tong returned the grin, and I leaned into his chest as the music drew to an end. My new husband may be flawed, but, at the minute, I was hard pressed to think of exactly how this was so.

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**A/N:** Corn - Overdose... Bah, this chapter took me far too long to put up. Please review anyway, I promise that the next chapter won't be so corny!


	21. Out of the Frying Pan

**A/N: **The corn bucket has officially been put aside, people! And it's been replaced by the "What the hell, another chapter ONLY A WEEK AFTER the last one?!" sack. And the snail-shell container of crap metaphors.

Anyway, to get on with the thankies: Huge thankies and virtual hugs/cookies/kittens to all who read/reviewed/liked my last chapter! In particular, thebladeofchaos, Its_all_over_but_the_crying, The Three Spearmen, Bladed Thesis, Redondo 20, and Changgirl. I don't think I even have to say how much I love you all at this point!

**Disclaimer:** Anyone else thing the word "lame" halfway through the word "disclaimer" sort of gives you a hint? Yeah, Su Zhi is mine, Bai Yu is mine, random sense of humour, you get the idea.

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"I'm sure you're aware of the situation at the minute. Yesterday, a Wei messenger was sent to us from Fan Castle in the Jing province, where Cao Ren is currently being besieged by a small, but powerful, Shu army..."

I sighed, but quietly. It was late 219, and the peace which had reigned supreme over the provinces we ruled looked to be coming to an end, and all at the request of a rival faction.

"I am aware that there are some... personal disagreements between us and the officers of Wei," said Lu Meng, standing up as Sun Quan finished his introductory speech and sat down, "but, if we team up with them, we can help neutralise a potentially deadly threat to our kingdom, as well as regaining control over the province of Jing. However, this will not be easy - otherwise Wei would not be asking for our help. At the head of the Shu army is Guan Yu, one of the five Shu Tiger generals and the so called 'God of War'. We have also had word that reinforcements are heading for Guan Yu's position, lead by Zhang Fei. These two must not be underestimated! They have proven themselves as very capable warriors on several occasions, and all due caution must be taken if you engage in battle with either of them!"

I glanced around the room as Lu Meng walked over to the map. There weren't many people at all in the room that was being used for the battle preparation meeting - apart from Lu Meng and Sun Quan (who would remain at the palace while the fighting went on), there was me, Lu Xun, Gan Ning leaning against a nearby wall, and a couple of other generals whose names escaped me at the minute. Everyone else was either too busy to be called away at such short notice, or had some other reason why they couldn't attend.

The room itself was sparcely decorated, with plain walls, and the long table in the middle looking strangely empty. A map of Fan Castle and the surrounding area was at the head of the table, where we had all gathered.

"Cao Ren is holding fort in Fan Castle, while Guan Yu has set up a base to the south-west.", Meng said, pointing at the appropriate parts of the map. "However, Fan Castle is situated at the bottom of a small valley, making it susceptible to water attacks. Guan Yu is well aware of this - reports have shown that Guan Ping is already making preparations for such an attack in the north-west - _here_ -" another point at the map, "and the province of Jing has suffered an unusually heavy rainfall over the last few days. Therefore, we have to act fast to stop Cao Ren being defeated.

"However, Lu Xun and I have come up with a strategy. Guan Yu is aware that we are coming as backup, but he will underestimate us on account of our size. This means that all we have to do is..."

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

Once the meeting was over, I went to go and find Tong. With the situation as it was, we would be leaving at first light the next day, and I wanted to tell my husband face to face - after all, we would be gone for a while, and I didn't want Tong to worry too much.

I tried the training arena first, but Tong was nowhere to be seen. Shang Xiang was there, however - Quan had refused to let the Wu princess go into battle against one of Shu's most fearsome generals, and Shang Xiang had responded to this by throwing herself into training, but I knew that, secretly, she was rather relieved.

"Hey, Shang Xiang!" I called out, interrupting her as she was about to launch another volley of attacks on the training dummy. "Have you seen Tong around anywhere?"

"Not since he finished training earlier, no. Why?" she asked, running a distracted hand through her hair.

"We leave at dawn tomorrow to help Wei, and I wanted to talk to him first."

"That's pretty short notice for something like this. Who else is going?"

"It's just me, Lu Meng, Lu Xun, and Ning, plus a few soldiers."

"Just you lot?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah. So, do you know where Tong might be?"

Shang Xiang shrugged.

"No idea. If he isn't in his room or eating, then I couldn't say where he is."

"Ok. Thanks, anyway."

I turned to leave, but Shang Xiang called out to me.

"Good luck if I don't see you before you go tomorrow - it sounds like you're going to need it!"

I grinned wearily back at her.

"You don't know the half of it, trust me..." I said, before leaving the training arena.

Back inside the palace, I checked both his bedroom and the mess hall, but my husband was nowhere to be seen. Feeling vaguely annoyed at the lack of the cynical man, I wandered back outside, and into an ornamental garden -

"There you are!" I said, and Tong turned from staring at the distant town to look at me, looking mildly surprised to see me there.

"I didn't think that the meeting would be over so soon," said Tong, pulling me into a quick embrace and giving me a peck on the cheek as I reached him. "So, what's going on with Fan Castle?"

"Lu Meng says we leave at dawn tomorrow."

"That soon?" asked Tong, looking rather dismayed.

"Yeah. Apparently, if we leave it any longer, Wei might not be able to hold out until we get there, and Lu Meng's strategy would fail without them."

"Oh? What's the strategy?"

I hesitated. Dangerous - that's what this strategy was. It all depended on Shu thinking we were weak because there weren't many of us, and in particular because I was a woman... but I didn't want Tong to worry while we were away...

"...Complicated." I lied. "And risky. Look, as long as everyone does as they're told, then we should win. Besides, Ning's coming as well."

"It can't be that complicated or risky if they expect Ning to be able to understand it, then."

I smiled slightly, but then my smile faded.

"We are fighting Guan Yu, you know. The Shu 'God of War'. Wei are heavily disadvantaged, and if they fall then we've got no chance. Ning knows that as well as I do!"

"Hey, hey, I know," said Tong, before pulling me into a long embrace. "Come on! I've never known you to be so worried about a battle before!"

I sighed, and leaned into the skinny general's chest.

"I know... It's just that there's a lot riding on this battle. And I'm not sure if Sun Quan or Lu Meng thought this one through - how are Shu going to react to us suddenly helping Wei? What will they do if we somehow manage to kill Guan Yu?"

Tong pulled back slightly so he could look down at me, and smiled reassuring,y at the worried look on my face.

"That's a bit ambitious, isn't it? Look, don't worry about it - if you manage to kill Guan Yu - that's _if_ you manage it - then we'll worry about it then. But for now, you should just be focusing on Fan Castle, hmm?"

I gave my husband a quick kiss on the lips, before standing back.

"I suppose I'd better go and get ready, then..."

I went to turn away, but Tong caught my arm. I turned back to look up at him - and was mildly, if not pleasantly surprised when he caught my lips with his in a long, passionate kiss. When we finally broke apart, he looked me in the eyes, still holding me close.

"Just promise me one thing - come back in one piece, okay? Don't do anything stupid."

I grinned up at him cheekily.

"You ruin all my fun."

Tong chuckled, and let me go. I walked back to my room, opened my wardrobe - and paused. Why was I worried about this battle? Yeah, Guan Yu was no-one to take lightly, and Shu would hardly be ecstatic if - when - they lost, but... Oh, I don't know, I just had this sort of... uneasy feeling, but not about the battle. It just felt like the repercussions from this battle would lead to something terrible, and it had me feeling on edge.

I sighed, and shut the wardrobe again. I really wouldn't be helping anyone by worrying what would happen after Fan Castle. First, we had to see if this strategy would even work...

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Having ridden hard over the past two days to reach Fan Castle, it was almost a relief to arrive, but, if the screams of the fallen and air of terrified desperation were anything to go by, we'd just found ourselves in one hell of an uphill struggle.

I jumped off my horse, and had a good look around the plain we were in as Ning followed suit. It looked like this area hadn't seen much action yet, although I could see that there was a friendly base of some sort between us and the Shu camp to the west. In the north-east corner was another base, looking rather quiet, but clearly flying green banners. A Shu base.

I flicked out my wrist blades - I'd placed them on that morning as we had decamped, knowing that I'd have little time to prepare when we arrived - and eyed the base as Lu Meng and Lu Xun talked strategy.

"You ready for the go-ahead?" said Ning from behind me. I nodded, my eyes not leaving the base.

I suppose it was true that I wanted to be started, but only so that we could be done faster. My feeling of unease hadn't lessened as we had approached our rendezvous, and it really wasn't helping any that I'd been given a huge task to achieve.

Lu Meng started shouting instructions at the soldiers, and I flicked my wrist blades in and out agitatedly. The lack of action was putting me on edge even more than usual - enough so that even Ning noticed, but just as he was about to say something to me -

"It is time! This army shall bring death to Guan Yu!"

Without another prompt, I set off at a dead run toward the base I'd been eyeing. The doors swung shut as I approached, but I just executed a quick series of slashes, which ended in all five guards outside the base slumping to the ground, dead. The gates swung open again, but I was attacking the guard captain before they'd even ground to a halt again, and within seconds, a huge spurt of blood from the man's neck signalled his death, sending the rest of the base into a panic. Half a minute had passed since Meng's shout before I emerged from the base again, through the same doors as I'd entered by, looking for the next unlucky lot of Shu soldiers to gut.

I found some quickly enough, and started to hack my way through them. I could see Xun nearby, fighting alongside Meng and talking about how morale was low among two of the Shu generals. So what? It would be gone by the time I'd finished with them.

_What was I doing? At this rate, I'd wear myself out before I even got to my target, and that was the last thing that I wanted to happen..._

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a horse approaching. With a final thrust of my blade, I finished off the soldier I was fighting, and turned to face the approaching general.

"Do you honestly think you can help Cao Ren with those few soldiers?" he shouted at me.

I half-turned from him to decapitate a charging soldier.

"And who are you, that you think those words will intimidate us?" I asked quietly, still turned from him. He gave a derisive snort.

"Me? I am Guan Suo, trusted officer under Guan Yu, the God of War!"

"Really?" I said, as another charging soldier met a brutal death as my high kick snapped his head back far too fast. "If he is the God of War, then that will make me the Angel of Death."

Guan paled slightly, although his sneer stayed locked in place.

"Oh? Who are you, then, _Angel of Death_?"

Without giving any warning, I launched myself at him. He started in surprise, but as my blade came whistling through the air toward his stomach, he had no choice but to fall out of the saddle as he clumsily dodged. He had the sense to scramble to his feet as I ran wide to avoid being trampled by the skittish horse, but all that meant was that he was upright for my ferocious onslaught of slashes and the occasional kick.

It wasn't long before I got an attack in past his guard, and as he crumpled to the ground, I drew back my blade for one final stab-

"Hey, Su!"

I hesitated, my arm still poised to kill the helpless general, and as I held my arm there, I could feel whatever it was that had been pushing me forward ebb away.

"Su,what's up with you?" said Ning, coming up to me as I stepped back from the fallen Guan Suo, and let my arm fall to my side. I could feel the Shu general's eyes on me, searching my face for a sign of what I would do next.

"You can tell Guan Yu," I said, breathing heavily from the recent exertion, "that Su Zhi of Wu is here to take his head." I then quickly booted him in the temple, before he had time to react.

Turning from his recumbent form, I saw Ning staring at me.

"What was that about?" he asked, resting the blunt edge of his blade on his shoulder and raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing." I said, starting toward a nearby gate captain. Before I was even halfway there, though, Ning had darted in front of me and killed the captain, plus a few other soldiers who had been grouped around him.

"Don't go giving me that shit," he said, turning back to face me. "I've known you for too long for that. I know when something's up with you."

I gave an irritated snort and turned away from him again, but before I could walk away, he was in front of me, gripping my shoulder with his free hand.

"Talk to me."

I shrugged off his hand, and glared intently at a patch of ground several feet behind him.

"It's this whole damn battle, okay?" I snapped. "The strategy might work if we're incredibly lucky, we might be too late to help anyway, we're helping _Wei_ here, I've got a bad feeling about what this battle might spark off down the line, and because I'm so irritated, I'm pushing myself too hard, which will make killing Guan Yu impossible if I'm too tired, and if he survives this battle then we've got no chance!"

Ning blinked in the silence after my rant.

"Well, first off, I've had to help pull off far dodgier strategies than this one," he said, putting his hand on his hip and his sword back on his shoulder. "Remember Chi Bi?"

I nodded reluctantly. It shouldn't have been possible for the wind to change direction mid-winter - but it had.

"And I know we aren't too late, because otherwise Lu Meng would have ordered our retreat. His strategy won't work without Wei. So just relax - it's no use getting worked up about it. 'Sides, like you said, you don't want to go wearing yourself out too quickly."

Behind Ning, I could see a couple of Shu soldiers drag a groaning Guan Suo away. He wouldn't be any more trouble - I'd have been impressed if he could have fought on in that state - but now there was no turning back.

Shu would soon know that I intended to kill Guan Yu before the end of the day.

"Alright," I said with a sigh. "What now?"

"Lu Meng's holding camp for now, and Xun's gone west to try and get a couple of generals to defect." said Ning as he shifted his grip on his weapon and glanced casually around himself. "I reckon we should break through to Fan Castle, see how Cao Ren's holding out after Shu used a water attack to flood the place."

"A water attack?" I asked, mildly horrified as I turned to look at him. "What about the citizens?"

Ning shrugged.

"Either they drowned or they got out," he said, non-commitally.

I turned away again.

"And Shu are supposed to be virtuous..." I muttered, feeling slightly nauseous.

"You never see much virtue on a battlefield." said Ning. "But, come on, are we fighting this battle or not?"

I nodded grimly, and we set off toward Fan Castle together. There were no generals that we could see in the throng ahead of us, but I remained on my guard anyway. I needed to avoid as many injuries as possible to pose any sort of threat to the God of War, Guan Yu.

We were just approaching a Wei controlled passage when the sound of hoofbeats made me tense up and whip my head in the direction of the noise. A horse was emerging from behind the gate captain, carrying on its back a huge, well-muscled man, wielding an enormous poleaxe which must have weighed a tonne. I sensed Ning relax beside me as I recognised the monster who had just arrived as Huang Zu - in any other battle, a dangerous foe, but, here, welcome reinforcements.

He regarded us with barely concealed discontent, before turning back to his squad, who had emerged after him. I glanced at Ning - clearly, the Wei generals were just as annoyed at the current alliance as I was - before we continued on our way.

Not long after, we reached the edge of the fight in the plains before the castle, which did have a certain... waterlogged look to them. I launched myself into the fray, swinging my blade sideways at one private, before dodging an attack to my side by someone rather faster on the uptake than the rest.. A quick boot under the chin snapped his head back, however, and as he stumbled backwards, I followed up with a series of kicks and deadly slashes which took out not only him, but half a dozen other men either side of him.

To my side, Ning executed a nasty little series of moves which sent a good portion of the crowd in front of him flying. As I threw myself back into the fight, I saw, just for a second, a heavily blue-armoured man with two huge polearms somewhat reminiscent of that of Huang Zu's, dispatch a number of green-clad soldiers. I span around with my arms held straight out, scything off a few heads, before an over-zealous strike made me back off hurriedly.

I dealt with that lot as quickly as I could, glancing up to see the Wei general utterly surrounded by green and looking incredibly weary. I gritted my teeth as I blocked an attack from my left - we didn't have much time left to reach that general, but there were still far too many Shu soldiers between us and him-

To my right, I heard Ning grunt, before a blur suddenly took out a huge chunk of the green in front of me. I paused for a second to stare at Ning, before a blade nicked my forearm, badly enough to draw blood, but not enough to make it serious. I lashed out at the culprit as the pain shot up my arm, but as I turned, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the general we were trying to reach go down to an attack from behind.

Now would be a good time for a miracle.

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**A/N: **Hahaha, I just typed all that up in one sitting, and now my back hurts from this crappy computer chair! So please review, so I forget how uncomfortable my back is at the minute. Or at least think that it was worth it. See y'all in the next ... portentous chapter!


	22. And Into the Fire

**A/N:** I fail. I am just entirely made of fail, because I completely lost all my mojo for finishing this story, which is a shame because I'm really proud of this epic bugger. I honestly don't blame any of you for hating me for the absence (especially given for my habit of leaving you on a cliffhanger), but I can safely say that I will not be abandoning this story until it is finished. And, frankly, God only knows when that will be.

I owe absolutely massive thanks to everyone who has stuck with me and inspired me so far - this includes thebladeofchaos for keeping my little Su alive and kicking in his story, Bladed Thesis for always giving me such huge praise when I needed it the most, and Changgirl for always having such boundless enthusiasm. Seriously, I love you all, especially for not trying to hunt me down and force me to post a new chapter... (especially seeing as I'm in the middle of exam period and should be revising my ass off - aah, procrastination, you double-edged sword, you!)

**Disclaimer:** Yes, I still do these, no, I still don't own Koei or sanity, kthxbai.

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I knew that no miracle would be forthcoming, however, unless I gave it a jump start, so I flicked my blades away and swung my Clackers from around my neck. This would be the first time I used my improved Clackers since they were broken by Sha Moke at Nan Zhong, and I was looking forward to seeing how they would perform. Plus, in any case, I had a couple of new moves to showcase.

I backed off as I prepared for this move, swinging one end of the Clackers over my shoulder before catching it with my other hand and repeating, like a pair of nunchucks. Once I had a good rhythm and speed built up, I started to move forward, quickly somersaulting off an unsuspecting enemy soldier and launching myself into a back flip; then, when I had reached the peak of my jump and was still upside down, I threw my Clackers into the middle of the crowd and, as they slammed into the earth, a huge wave of ice energy spread rapidly from the point of impact. By the time I landed, most of the Shu soldiers were down for the count.

I quickly walked over to my Clackers, snatching them up with fingers that trembled only slightly, before replacing them around my neck. I wouldn't be able to do anything like that again before the end of the battle - it took too much out of me.

"Wasn't that a bit excessive?" grunted Ning as he picked off one of the survivors.

"I can handle it." I said, breathing heavily.

"Just remember that we need you on form when you take on Guan Yu."

"I know!" I snapped, with slightly more irritation in my voice than I'd meant to show. To our side, the Wei general heaved himself to his knees, and pulled one of his two huge poleaxes towards him, to use for balance. Ning turned to face him.

"Hey! You alright there?"

The man glanced up at us, regarding us wearily through the narrow slat in his heavy helmet. I recognised him instantly from a description Tong had given me from when he had encountered the Wei general at He Fei, just before Zhang Liao had turned up. Just how hard had Shu been fighting to reduce the mighty warrior Pang De to his knees? I'd heard the stories about his battle prowess before, of course, but just to glance at his huge weapons was to know how strong he really was. Each of those poleaxes must have weighed a ton.

"I am fine," he grunted in response, before pulling himself to his feet again. "Thank you for the assistance."

"Hey, it's no problem," said Ning cheerfully. "This is turning out to be a good fight!"

The man stiffly half-turned from us, and I knew that Ning had struck a nerve.

"No fight is good." he said, in a tone of voice that made it very clear that the conversation was over.

"Come on, Ning!" I said suddenly, grabbing him by the arm and starting to drag him away from the Wei general - my blades were still sheathed after my last move, so I didn't cut him.

"Huh-? Oh." said Ning, looking more than slightly confused. I steered him towards an occupied base which some Wei soldiers were attacking without much success, in the hope that he would be distracted by the fight -

"What's his prob-"

"Ning!" I hissed, cutting him off before he could finish. "Just drop it, okay?"

Ning looked at me in mild annoyance, before snorting derisively and launching himself at the base. I glanced over my shoulder at Pang De - a couple of soldiers had returned for orders, but the Wei general met my gaze over their heads, and nodded in stiff gratitude.

I returned the gesture, before turning back to the base, where Ning was using rather more force than necessary to take on the Shu base soldiers. Glancing around, I could see that this area was safe for now, apart from the odd patch of resistance, but even as I watched the base, a couple of Wei soldiers climbed up next to the green flags and threw them off. The base had fallen.

With the Wu camp in the south-eastern corner, and the Wei castle in the north-east, I reckoned that we had control over the eastern side of the battlefield. Lu Meng and Xun were trying to gain more support by getting Mi Fang and Fu Shi Ren to defect - so that just left the north-western corner. When we had control over all four corners, then Guan Yu would have nowhere to run.

"Hey, Su, quit daydreaming!"

I looked up to see Ning emerging from the fallen base and walking over. He paused as he passed the corpse of a Shu soldier, inspecting his blade before wiping it clean on the man's leather armour. I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing on the matter.

"I wasn't daydreaming, I was using my head for something other than fighting." Ning made a face at me, but he didn't protest - I had seen him headbutt several people on the battlefield before now. "I reckon we should head for the north-western corner. This side's fine, so now we should start putting the squeeze on them."

"You know Guan Ping is over that way?"

I hesitated. Guan Ping, the adopted son of Guan Yu, already had somewhat of a reputation for himself. The focus of his stories, however, had always been the enormous sword, which he apparently handled with comparative ease, even using only one hand. I knew that he would be a tough fight, but he should be no problem if both me and Ning tackled him.

"...If we meet him, we meet him. He's already pulled off the water attack, so he has no reason to have stayed where he was. In the meantime, there's a couple of bases over that way. We can make things easier for ourselves by taking them out."

"That's good enough for me. We heading off over in that direction, then?"

"Sounds like it."

We set off again, quickly passing a base which had already been taken by Wei soldiers, and keeping close to the river as we turned to the west. It was oddly quiet - the way was littered with Shu and Wei bodies, but it looked decidedly... contrived.

"Don't drop your guard," muttered Ning from beside me. I nodded - he'd obviously seen what I'd seen. It looked like the perfect place to ambush an officer who took the scenario at face value -

I jerked my blade up just in time to deflect an arrow, and we were suddenly surrounded by Shu soldiers. I backed away slightly, keeping a wary eye on the nearest soldiers, and quickly found myself back to back with Ning.

"How nice of you to drop by," came a cool and calm voice from behind me. Ning grunted in reply.

"Not like you gave us any choice in the matter. Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"Ah, so rude of me. I am Liao Hua, lifelong officer and servant of Shu. And I see that you are Gan Ning, the pirate who defected to Wu after your defeat at Xia Kou. And you brought a friend with you!"

I had felt Ning tense up as the man had identified him, and shifted my position slightly. Any time now...

A Shu general stepped into my line of sight. At first glance, he looked like most other Shu generals I'd met up 'till now, but there were some subtle little differences that set him apart from the rest. His green armour seemed to be better made than most, and there was a lot of silver detail that was almost hidden at the bottom of his chest plate. His spear was very streamlined, and gleamed even in this dismal weather. The black feathers protruding from where the blade itself met the handle on his weapon matched his dark eyes, which glinted with a malicious intellect underneath his helmet as his gaze lingered on my scars.

"Ah... the lovely Lady Su Zhi..." he said, as his roving eyes ran over the rest of my body. "How lovely to see you... in the flesh, as it were. Oh, but I've heard about _you_!"

My fists clenched instinctively underneath my blades as the gloating general paced back and forth before me, but he wasn't done yet.

"The self styled 'Angel of Death', but I've never seen a more pathetic officer. Captured at Xia Kou, scarred in the safety of your own palace while the rest of the army was fighting at Chi Bi, fought against and defeated a number of the officers you claim to help here during the battle at He Fei, defeated Meng Huo at Nan Zhong, married to... who was it? Ah, yes, a certain _Ling Tong_. Yes, I know all about _you_."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" I asked, keeping my cool even though the way he had said that last part had stirred up my earlier feelings of unease.

Hua gave a small chuckle.

"Perhaps."

Behind me, Ning snorted.

"Are you about done there, Hua? 'Cause I'm itchin' for a fight!"

Ning launched himself forward, and I did the same, grinning despite myself. You could always count on Ning to break the tension. The soldiers in front of me started at my sudden movement, dropping their guard for just long enough for me to slash at their stomachs. Several of them went down, and the ones who were left suddenly started to look very panicky. I pulled off a quick front-side-turning kick combo, grinning ever more widely as the soldiers scattered - surprise is such a wonderful gift -

- And then the Shu general's blade came whistling towards me. I hastily pulled my leg back, but when Hua followed it up with a series of slashes, I was forced to clumsily handspring away. As soon as I was back on my feet, I brought my blades back up to protect myself, and heard the steely clang of his spear rebounding. He backed away, and we circled around each other, both looking for an opening.

"Take care of the pirate! She's mine..." snarled Hua to his men. I saw a couple of them hesitate out of the corner of my eye. Looks like they'd heard about Ning as well...

"Ning? You mind leaving him to me?" I called over my shoulder, my eyes never leaving the other man's face. Behind me, Ning laughed.

"I gotcha! Just don't take forever over it, will ya?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

To a renewed background of grunts, screams, and unpleasant gristly noises, I eyed Liao Hua. There was something... off about him. It was irritating me.

"How well do you really know me?" I said, just loudly enough that he could hear me. He sneered at me triumphantly.

"Do you really think that the people of Shu will idly sit back after you intrude in this battle? I think your _husband_ might regret that decision..."

The implication of that hit me at the same time as Hua attacked - I involuntarily dropped my guard, and there was nothing I could do but watch as his foot came up...

He kicked me in the stomach, instantly winding me and making me double over, but his free hand, clenched in a fist, rose to meet my chin-

It happened in an instant, and, before I quite knew what was going on, I was flat on my back, my head and stomach aching, wheezing, with the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. I pulled myself into a seated position, and spat out a mouthful of blood -

"That was low!" snarled Ning from behind me, and I just knew that he was going to run up and attack Hua.

"No! This is my fight, Ning!" I shouted, in between breaths. With some effort, I hauled myself to my feet, and glared at the smug Shu officer.

"You're going to regret that," I growled, wiping the blood from my lips before taking up a ready stance. My body screamed in protest - I knew that it would present its bill later - but for now, I was supported by a rickety scaffold of rage. Opposite me, Hua smirked at my words.

"I wonder about that..."

Something in me snapped, and I launched myself at him, mid-snarl. One of my blades whistled through the air, ready to puncture his jugular - but he was ready for it, bringing up his blade with an insolent smirk on his face. Without a conscious prompt, my knee came up, unbidden, and caught the man in the stomach, but he stayed barely upright and swung his spear toward me, forcing me to back off.

_Damnit_! I may have bitten off more than I could handle, but I wasn't getting serious yet -_ but what about my task? How was exhausting myself like this going to help me fight and attempt to kill Guan Yu? I was being far too impulsive - I wouldn't even be able to survive against_ this_ bastard at this rate, and Liao Hua was no God of War._

All of this passed through my head in an instant, and was then promptly ignored. I would defeat this bastard of a Shu general, and then - the God of War. I took a few deep breaths to steel myself - I had already used a strong move this battle, but I was just going to have to deal with it.

In one smooth move, and without breaking eye contact with the now malevolently smirking Liao Hua, I flicked away my wrist blades, and whipped my Clackers from around my neck. I got into a ready stance-

"Hey, Su! Don't go overboard with those! You've still got the rest of the battle to go yet!" shouted Ning from behind the Shu general, before a gristly sound and a dying scream told me that some more soldiers had appeared. I was just going to have to get this battle over with quickly-

"What's the matter?" sneered the Shu general. "You should know better than to hesitate on a battlefield!"

I glared at him, before shifting my grip on my Clackers imperceptibly.

"Who said I was hesitating?" I said quietly, before grinning triumphantly.

There was a muffled _twang_ from behind Liao Hua, and the man suddenly staggered forward, an arrow bristling in the back of his leg. I watched as Hua cursed, ineffectually grabbing at his leg, before turning to see a smirking Gan Ning handing a bow back to a Wu archer. Realising at last that he was heavily outnumbered, he turned and fled for the nearest guard passage and safety.

"You should try taking your own advice!" I shouted after him triumphantly, slinging my Clackers back around my neck and flicking my wrist blades out once more.

"Hey, don't go gettin' too cocky," said Ning, hitting me on the arm as he passed. "You're just lucky those archers caught up with us when they did."

I rubbed my arm distractedly as I looked around. There were a fair few Wu and Wei soldiers milling around now - Ning was right about that.

"Yeah... thanks for ignoring me," I said quietly. Ning gave a short chuckle from behind me.

"Don't worry about it. I know what you're like when you get competitive."

I was about to reply when a moving patch of green and blue to the west brought me back to the battle.

"Come on, I still have a job to do," I sighed, before setting off at a gentle trot.

"You sure you're ready for it still?" asked Ning as we neared the edge of the melee.

"Ready to try and kill the God of War?" I asked as I lunged at the nearest Shu soldier with a jab to the throat. "I'm not sure that's even possible on my own, even if Guan Yu underestimates me, like we planned." In front of me, the soldier collapsed into a growing pool of his own blood, and I moved onto the next soldier. "On the other hand," I grunted as my next victim was disemboweled, and I turned to the next lot of green-clad men, " Lu Meng and Lu Xun think I can do it -" I span around as the group ran into range, launching an impromptu ball of ice which drifted closer to them, "- And Tong would kill me if I got too badly injured, of course." In front of me, the ball of ice gently exploded, killing all the Shu soldiers it touched. "Especially as I haven't told him it's my job to take down Guan Yu," I added quietly.

There was a blur in front of me, and the remaining soldiers were all cut down. Ning suddenly appeared in front of me, blood-splattered and slightly out of breath.

"You didn't tell him?"

"How could I?" I snapped, before setting off to the west again. "He would have freaked! I didn't want him to worry while I was gone!"

I heard Ning sigh behind me, before he moved to catch up with me.

"Alright, alright. You'd better be sure you don't get too badly injured, then."

I didn't respond. Ahead of us, I could see a clearing, flanked by two bases. No... one base, a supply base from the look of it, and the other, just an empty shell. Looked like we'd reached our target.

"I don't see-"

"Shh!"

Ning fell silent, and I strained to try and hear the noise which had drifted over on the edge of hearing. Somewhere nearby, I had heard a metallic clink.

"Bushes," murmured Ning, nodding in their direction. Between the two buildings was a small area of dense shrubbery. Perhaps ten, twenty soldiers could have hidden in there effectively... but I knew the bushes only had one occupant.

We approached with some caution - well, anyone could have been in there - before Ning motioned me to hang back, and drew ahead of me.

"Hey, I think we can drop the charade now. We know you're in there, quit bein' a coward!"

From my position, I could see very clearly as the man slowly emerged. He'd had plenty of time to watch us as we'd approached him, and doubtlessly, he'd recognised Ning, so it was no surprise that he was using due caution. He had dark, spiky hair - somewhat like Ning's, but taller and not as cool - green armour with intricate detail on it... and a huge sword which he was holding behind him with one hand, as he weighed us up.

I clenched my fists tightly, and subconsciously sank into a ready stance. Ning grinned as he recognised the man.

"Guan Ping! We were hoping we'd run into you around here somewhere!"

Ping ignored the triumphant pirate, and turned to face me.

"Are you Su Zhi?"

"Perhaps. Why are you asking?" I said calmly, my eyes following his every move.

Ping brought his sword out from behind him, and held it out in front, samurai-style.

"I have just spoken to Guan Suo at some length about your encounter with him. So-called 'Angel of Death', I will not let you touch my father!"

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**A/N: **Hmm, that cliffie seems to jar a bit. Anyone else think that, or is it just me?

Anyway, what lengths will Ping go to to stop them advancing any further? Can Su Zhi really take on Guan Yu and survive? Will Gan Ning ever get some officer action this battle (that sounds rather vulgar)? Find out in the next (hopefully not as horrendously delayed) chapter! Toodle-oo for now!


	23. The God of War

**A/N: **Hey, everyone, I finally managed to get to the end of Chapter 25 in my book, so here's the next chapter. I'm also going to say that I'm not going to make any more promises about the consistency of when these chapters will occur. I know it sucks, but I don't want to make promises I can't keep, because you guys deserve better than that. What I CAN promise, though, is that I will finish this story. I've put far too much effort into this to see it fizzle out, so please just be patient if the next chapter is late.

The usual thankies for reviews and other such goodness go to thebladeofchaos, Bladed Thesis, and Morality0duality. It also goes to everyone else who still has me on their author alert or favourite, and who is still with me, reading this, right now. Anyway, on with the actual story. Hopefully this can make up somewhat for the wait.

**Disclaimer: **You all know what I do and don't own. I just like writing these.

* * *

Without any more warning, Ping launched himself at me, a look of fierce determination on his face as he brought down his sword - and met Ning coming the other way. Their swords were forced into a deadlock, and I straightened up slightly as I watched them fight for dominance. Even from behind, I could tell that Ning was smirking.

"Hey, Su!" he called over his shoulder, without breaking his mocking eye contact with Ping. "You mind if I take this one? You've been hogging all the officers up 'til now!"

I straightened up fully, and grinned.

"Sorry, I seem to have stolen all your fun," I said cheekily, eying up the climbing possibilities of a nearby tree. "Feel free to let off some steam - just try to leave the buildings intact, hmm?"

Ning chuckled, and shifted his weight imperceptibly. He was about to break out of his stance. I set off at a light run towards the tree, easily shinning my way up to a sturdy branch which gave me a good view of the proceedings. Hanging out with Shang Xiang paid off at times like these.

I had just settled myself into a comfortable position when Ning, with only a slight grunt of effort, heaved the massive sword off to the side, and took a stab at the Shu general's chest. Ping, most likely from luck than anything, managed to jump back enough that Ning only grazed his armour. He then brought his own massive greatsword into play, swinging it at Ning faster than looked possible, but Ning easily dodged it, and they backed away to circle each other warily.

I swung my legs from my perch contentedly. It was nice to have the occasional break from fighting, and, what with Ping living up to his salubrious reputation, I could see that Ning was going to be having a lot of fun.

"I'm glad to see you aren't all bark and no bite," taunted Ning, placing his sword on his shoulder again and smirking.

Ping, apparently incensed by the ex-pirate's casual action, sprang forward again, sword slicing through the air. Ning's already huge grin widened even more, and then he seemed to vanish, just before the sword made contact.

Me being used to this sort of thing from my boisterous friend, I had no trouble keeping up with him as he darted to the side. Ping, however, seemed to start as his sword slashed through an unexpected lack of resistance, before spinning and bringing his blade up just in time to deflect Ning's strike.

But Ping was good - he used the momentum of his upwards swing to knock Ning off balance, and then, as I leaned forward in surprise, he span again, and delivered a blow which knocked Ning off his feet, and which would have done a considerable amount of damage, had Ning not been able to block the blade with his sword. He still landed heavily, gasping and wincing slightly as the air was knocked out of him by the impact.

Ping glared down at him, sword still raised.

"I have no quarrel with you in particular, but if you insist on fighting me, then fight me properly! Don't underestimate my skill with this blade!"

Ning pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his sword arm absentmindedly as he grinned at the irked general.

"Heh, the only quarrel you should need should be that I'm not on your side," he said, before picking up his ready stance like nothing had happened, "but at least I get to have some real fun in this battle. Su, you just stay put! I'll only be a couple of minutes with this!"

I grinned. It was good to see Ning enjoying himself, and my perch was comfortable enough.

"Gotcha!" I called back in reply.

Ping narrowed his eyes and glared at Ning as they began circling for an opening again. I watched with intense interest - strange as it was, I'd never really seen Ning fighting seriously before. Oh, there was Xia Kou and He Fei, but in both those battles I'd been focusing on other things, such as keeping my guard up. Plus, from my vantage point, I would be able to see any other soldiers before they got close enough to do any damage.

Ping finally cracked, running forward with a snarl as he raised his sword. Ning easily parried it and jinxed out of the way, but Ping span around on the borrowed momentum and slammed his sword into the ground, creating an impressive shockwave around him. Ning darted away, just out of range, before putting on a burst of speed and charging the young general.

Ping wasn't as good at dodging attacks as Ning, and the pirate's attack caught him on the arm, resulting in a pained gasp from Ping, and a spurt of blood from his arm. He grabbed at the injured limb and slumped slightly, as Ning straightened up and turned back to face his opponent. I couldn't see Ping's face from here, but I could clearly see Ning's satisfied smirk. When he saw the Shu general flagging already, he gave an incredulous laugh - and Ping froze.

A flutter of fear made its presence felt in my stomach as Ning hesitated, and I silently dropped down from my perch, subconsciously flicking my blades in and out as I watched.

Moving slowly, Ping straightened up, and dropped his hand. His other hand shifted slightly to change the grip on his sword handle. Then, he turned to face Ning.

"Let me borrow some of your spirit, Xing Cai!" I heard him mutter, before he suddenly leaped forward. Ning was ready for him, although I could see that his usual grin had faded slightly in response to his opponent's actions. Ping delivered a quick series of slashes, which Ning managed to block, before returning the favour in kind. But Ping wasn't done yet. With a scowl of fierce concentration, he waited until just before Ning's next attack, before striking with a series of strong spinning slashes from his blade.

Ning was caught completely off guard - the first spin struck lucky and slashed through his side, although not very deeply. I started, eyes wide in shocked fear, but Ning somehow recovered enough to block the rest of the slashes.

I could see that Ning was in considerable pain, but overlying that was a rapidly growing veneer of rage. It was all I could do to keep my distance - I wanted to help him, but that look in his eye meant that buildings and his opponent were about to be irrefutably flattened.

Ning span his sword over his head, glaring malevolently at Ping, but Ping chose that moment to run forward, before leaping high into the air. I saw Ping draw back his arm as he went to fling his sword into the earth, just as Ning moved forward and unleashed his fiery vortex -

Both attacks hit at the same time, and the two vanished into a huge fireball. I instinctively flinched from the heat, my eyes closed, but I heard, very clearly over the _whoomf_ of the flames, the sound of both men screaming in pain and defiance. My heard began to ace in fear. _What had happened? Was Ning okay?_

The fire vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and I turned back to see the two men standing there, facing away from each other. Then, very gently, Ping collapsed, his blade hitting the ground with a dull _thud_.

I let out a breath I never knew I'd been holding, flicked my blades away, and broke into a run over to Ning, who hadn't moved an inch. I could see him breathing very heavily, and his side seemed to be bleeding profusely, but as I got closer, I could see he had several patches of burnt, raw skin, particularly on his forearms.

"Ning! Are you alright?" I asked as I neared him. He didn't reply. I came to a stop in front of him, and saw his gritted jaw behind the pained grimace and eyes focused desperately somewhere just over the horizon. He must have been in a huge amount of pain.

"Ning?" I asked, stepping closer to him. Without warning, he suddenly fell to his knees with a slight grunt, and would have fallen further if I hadn't caught him.

"Ning!"

"Damn..." I heard him mutter. I looked around frantically, but there was no-one to be seen. Where was everyone? Ning needed help!

Cursing under my breath, I heaved the pirate over so he was lying on his back, before grabbing at my skeeve, and ripping it off. I did the same with the other, before ripping them both up into makeshift bandages, and setting to work on some of Ning's worse injuries. He moaned slightly when I accidentally made the pain worse, but, apart from that and the steady rise and fall of the man's chest, he remained lifeless.

I had just run out of bandages when a shout behind me indicated some soldiers. I whipped around, alert for enemies, then slumped in relief when I saw the red of their uniforms.

"Come over here! We need to get Ning to a medic!" I shouted, panic starting to rise now that I wasn't distracted by my own inexperienced tendings to my best friend. I could see on the soldiers' faces the fear and concern from Ning being beaten - Ning was unstoppable, after all. Anyone who could take him down would be someone to reckon with. Speaking of which...

I stood up as the soldiers neared us, and walked over to where Ping lay, lifeless. I didn't want him in our hair any longer -

I needn't have worried. As I neared the Shu general, I could see the deep slash in his side - he'd almost been cut in half. If he wasn't dead already, he would be soon. But... had Ning done that? I stared at the corpse in shock. Had Ning delivered the final blow in the midst of that ferocious fireball? Was that why he was so badly burned?

I turned back toward Ning slowly. The soldiers were still watching me with a mix of fear and concern. It was hard to believe, but...

"Don't worry. Ning killed the man that did that to him. Now go find the medic before Ning joins him in the heavens!" I said, in a surprisingly unshaken voice. The soldiers picked up Ning, who groaned softly, and turned away towards our temporary camp, but not before I saw the look of relief that passed across their faces.

As they left with Ning, I turned back to the corpse of Guan Ping. The man had proven to be a lot more dangerous than we'd previously assumed, and now I was to defeat his _father_ without any help? My task had never looked so dauntingly impossible.

I glanced around the empty plain. What do I do now? I sighed, and was about to move on, when hoofbeats from behind me signalled the arrival of a messenger. I turned to face him as he neared me.

"Zhang Fei has arrived in the Shu main camp as backup for Guan Yu! Lords Lu Meng and Lu Xun are moving to intercept, but they ask that you defeat Guan Yu as soon as possible, my lady!" he shouted to me. I swallowed nervously. This was it - I couldn't put it off any more. Time to end this battle... one way or the other.

"Tell Lord Lu Meng that I'm moving to intercept Guan Yu now. If I lose, he is to retreat at once. Got it?"

"Yes, my lady."

The messenger rode off again, and I turned and strode off to the south. As I moved, I flicked out my wrist blades and checked my Clackers were in place. This was going to take everything I had.

This was going to be kill or be killed.

I met a few soldiers on my way to Guan Yu, but they were easily dispatched. The narrow path widened out again - and there he was.

I hadn't realised he'd moved so far north. The nervous butterflies in my stomach rose to a crescendo, and my mouth went involuntarily dry. I tried to swallow, but it didn't help at all_. The God of _War... Meet the Angel of Death.

I took another step forward, and saw a soldier at the edge of the huddle around Guan Yu glance up in my direction. As I walked forward, I could see the nudges and heads turning to face me, until the wave eventually reached the God of War himself. I clenched my jaw tight, and stopped, some ten metres away from the nearest guard. Guan Yu turned his infamous Red Hare to face me, his usual solomn expression on his face.

"You are Su Zhi?" he asked, his deep voice almost menacing.

"I am." I said, standing my ground before his ferocious gaze, and clenching my fists subconsciously behind my blades. "Guan Suo passed on my message, I presume?"

"I have spoken to Guan Suo. You are here to take my head?"

I could see the soldiers nudging each other and advancing slightly on me. This could turn very bad very quickly if they all rushed me at once -

"Stop!" barked the heavily bearded man, holding up his hand. "I do not wish for any unnecessary bloodshed." Still holding my gaze, he climbed down off Red Hare, and handed the reigns to a nearby soldier. "If it is my head you wish to take, then you shall face me, and me alone."

I swallowed. Off his horse, and holding his fearsome haleberd, he seemed to loom over his soldiers, and not only because of his height. I already knew I was in over my head, but this was something else altogether! And I had no choice but to plunge on forward.

_Kill or be killed..._

The Shu soldiers spread out around us, looking excited. How often did they see the God of War really fight? Not very often, I was willing yo bet. It wasn't long before the spectators had formed a ring around us, and Guan Yu took up his haleberd in both hands, getting ready to strike-

I darted forward, looking to strike before he was prepared, but he swung his blade around and up, nearly slashing me as I jinxed out of the way. Staying close, I tried again, aiming my blade at his chest, but he pushed me away with the shaft of his weapon, swiping at me as I stumbled. I ducked the blade, but then lost my balance, my left blade digging into the earth as I tried to steady myself. Ignoring this, I lashed out with my foot, kicking him hard on the shin. He grunted in pain, and I went to pull myself upright as he swung his blade in instinctive retaliation -

The blade was too low to cut me properly, but the shaft was good and stout, and as I strained to pull my blade out of the earth, it smashed into my forearm, causing a loud crack, and me to scream in pain. Pure agony overrode any iota of common sense, and I whipped my other hand around to grasp my arm - and heard Guan Yu cry out in pain. He backed off, and I gritted my teeth and heaved my blade out of the ground with my other arm, causing me to give another stifled scream of agony.

I'd never been in so much pain in all my life. Guan Yu must have broken my arm with that last swing, it was the only explanation. Out of the corner of my eye, past tears of pain and shooting stars, I could see Guan Yu closing in again, but this time, he appeared to be limping heavily, keeping his weight off the shin I'd kicked - and which was now covered in blood. I glanced at my right blade, and saw the oily red gleam of blood along its edge. Had I done that to him?

I went to stand, to back away from the approaching general, but my legs didn't want to respond. The pain from my arm was immense - it seemed to fill my whole world, and it was only growing worse with every jolt or movement I gave it. I was going nowhere.

_Damnit! Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT!_ I was stuck. I was going to be struck down by the enraged Shu general, and we would lose the battle! How had this happened so easily?

The general stopped in front of me, and I flinched as he placed the edge of his blade against my neck.

"You came for my head, but I will not let my brothers down without using every ounce of strength in my body! Do you understand the foolishness of your actions now?"

I said nothing, and in the silence after his speech, all I heard was the sound of the bushes behind me suddenly rustling. The blade lifted slightly off the back of my neck as Guan Yu looked up, then left altogether, just as the sound of boots announced another arrival to the crowded clearing.

"Guan Yu! I have found you at last!"

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**A/N: **As I finish typing this, I have been up since 5am. It's now 11pm, and I have work tomorrow. I'm off to bed. But who is it that has just entered the clearing? Find out next time... Dun dun DUUUUUN!


	24. Tensions Rising

**A/N: **Hey, everybody! Uni's been mad in a fantastic way, but it does mean I'm not really thinking of this story very much. This chapter was written up in the summer, I think, but I was trying to make sure I say so far ahead of myself with my written story. Frankly, I haven't been doing that an awful lot in the last 6 months, but I'm putting up this chapter so you guys are finally free from the (kinda obvious but still evil) cliffhanger from last chapter.

Checking my reviews for last chapter reminded me that it's been frigging ages since I last updated this, and also to dole out thanks and virtual hugs to dancing-dolly, Bladed Thesis, thebladeofchaos, XxIHateRealityxX (FF hates your name with the full stops, so this is the best I can do), Viven, Sister Madly, and Sindraelyn for reviews, story alerts, and other such awesomeness! I know I say it a lot, but thanks as well to everyone who reads this for being patient with me when I do nothing for so long. When this is posted, I'll reread the rest of the story, and get a shuffle on with writing the next few chapters!

**Disclaimer:** Nope, still don't own Koei, or any Dynasty Warriors beyond number 5. If you spot any discrepancies with characterisation, that's most likely why.

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Guan Yu strode past me, still limping slightly, as I turned to stare at my apparent saviour. I had recognised the voice, but I didn't believe my own ears.

Xiahou Dun had just entered the clearing.

Dun took another few steps into the clearing, but then I heard a growl escape from the Shu general before he suddenly leaped forward. I could only watch, dumbstruck, as great scimitar and haleberd clashed once, twice, three times, before both men fell back.

"Xiahou Dun... We have known each other a long time..." growled Guan Yu.

"You have been a thorn in Wei's side for too long, Guan Yu! For Cao Cao's sake, it is up to me to kill you!"

Guan Yu laughed, before suddenly launching into another attack. As the men fought, I carefully put away my left blade with my right hand, wincing when I moved it too much and made my arm flare in pain. Once the blade was away, I pulled myself up onto my hands and knees, holding my broken arm to my chest, and attempted to crawl to safety - but the surrounding soldiers were having none of it.

"You ain't going nowhere!" came a voice from above me, and a pair of hands suddenly hauled me roughly to my feet. "Thought you were here to take his head? Stupid woman!"

I gasped as my arm was jolted, but then I was being pushed forward, back into the fight. I stumbled to a halt about five meters away from the whirling blades of the fighting couple, and hovered uncertainly. I couldn't move forward, as I wasn't about to fight on with a broken arm, but at least I knew what the two in the middle were thinking... more or less.

Dun and Guan Yu seemed very evenly matched - from what I could see, neither looked to be getting an edge over the other. But that was ridiculous! I had beaten Dun at He Fei, while Guan Yu had soundly defeated me here, so how could they be drawing out the battle for so long? _How was Dun able to hold off the Shu God of War so easily?_

A final clash rang out through the clearing as the two became trapped in a weapons deadlock. Over the sound of the soldiers cheering and grinding metal, Dun growled in defiance.

"There have been those who have faced me before, and even beaten me in open combat," he growled, apparently at his opponent, "and toward them, I hold no grudge. But I shall not rest until you are dead, Guan Yu!"

I froze. Was he aiming that at me? And then realisation hit me - with Guan Yu focused on the fight at hand, and pushing forward with all his might against Xiahou Dun, I was free to attack his open back. But I had to do it soon - now I knew what Dun was trying to do, I could see him start to flag, and as soon as Guan Yu forced his way out of that weapons deadlock, my chance would vanish.

I crept up behind Guan Yu, muttering to myself under my breath and willing my arm to stop hurting so much, trying to pull together the strength to deliver a devastating blow to the God of War - then plunged my blade into the man's back. He cried out, but I wasn't done yet. Twisting the blade, I hissed the final word, causing my blade to burn with a fierce heat, and heard Guan Yu groan like a dying animal.

Dun, seeing the man in such a state, seized the opportunity to break his way out of the deadlock, and as Guan Yu staggered backwards, I jinxed out of the way, darting to the side so I could see both men. I could see the God of War breathing heavily as he glared silently at Dun, his weapon held limply in both hands. _How was the man still upright?_ Opposite him, Dun raised his scimitar slightly.

Without warning, Guan Yu shot forward, holding his blade out horizontally - only to clash with Dun as he mirrored the wounded officer. I started, ready to turn and run, but then Guan Yu let out a short laugh, and stood up straight, still facing away from Dun and me.

"I congratulate you both, Xiahou Dun and Su Zhi. You have defeated me. However, although I will die, for a warrior, this is a glorious end!" he boomed, just as a gentle patter on the ground announced the return of the rain which had so devastated the land. Stood where I was, I was becoming increasingly weary and in pain. However, through the rush of blood in my ears and the stars shooting across my vision, I saw Guan Yu throw his head back and spread his arms wide, and heard his final whispered words.

"Brothers... I have failed our oath. Forgive me..."

I saw no more, because the nausea that had been rising in my stomach, caused by the pain of my broken arm, suddenly overcame me. Collapsing to my knees, I threw up, coughing and sobbing as I clenched my right fist and gritted my teeth with the pain. Around me, if I had been in any state to pay attention, I would have heard the sound of people running around, as if in a panic, and the very distinctive thud of a large body hitting the ground. I began to shudder uncontrollably as the backwash of adrenaline hit me - when I was fighting, it had done a fantastic job of covering the pain, but now it was back in full force, and my whole body seemed to ache. It was almost unbearable.

"... Su! Su, are you alright?"

I tried to sit back on my haunches as I recognised the voice as Lu Xun, but it was as though all my strength had deserted me. I could hear the sound of hoofbeats getting closer, before a couple of thuds indicated someone jumping down, and then a couple of hands on my shoulders gently pulled me up.

"My - my arm-" I managed to force through gritted teeth. Any movement was agonising, and it took all my remaining strength to stop my self screaming aloud with the pain.

"Oh, god... Look, can you stand?"

"I-I don't know..."

It took several false starts and a lot of help from the young strategist, but I eventually managed to get to my feet, and then onto Xun's horse at his insistence. The rain had settled into a steady drumming now, and I was already thoroughly soaked, but Xun ignored this, quickly leading the horse back in the direction of the main camp. Like all battles, a small army of medics had accompanied us to the battlefield, and had set up a small cluster of tents near the main camp, one of which I was lead to. Hearing the horse approaching, the medic emerged from the tent, and proceeded to help Xun get me off the horse. I was then taken into the tent, and laid on a low bed while the medic set to work on my arm.

All of this passed in a haze - I was completely drained of all energy (I could hardly move on my own), and the rain had made my clothes cold and wet, which didn't help my shaking. I was in shock.

"Su, your arm's bent out of shape, so the medic has to straighten it out before he can splint it, and it's going to hurt a lot." said Xun from somewhere above me, and then someone placed a piece of wood in my mouth. "Bite down on the wood if it gets too bad, okay?"

Hurt a lot? Gets too bad? It _already_ hurt a lot! How the hell could it get any worse than this?

I felt a couple of hands gently take my arm, and then, on the murmured instructions of the medic, Xun hesitantly but firmly moved to hold down my shoulders, then-

I screamed, the sound muffled by the piece of wood in my mouth. To say my arm was agonising would be a gross understatement - I couldn't have said how my arm felt, because it had been replaced with a white hot, all-consuming pain which spread through my body like wildfire, totally surrounding me and encasing me, and the sight of Xun's sympathetic wince as he tried to hold me still suddenly became blurred, before fading away. Everything faded away, but the pain remained and then, like water being poured from a bucket and suddenly coming to a dripping halt, the pain seemed to fade and vanish as well.

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I must not have been out of it for too long, because when I came to again, the medic was still treating my injuries, although he had thankfully moved on from my broken arm at that point. I suddenly remembered something, and glanced around the tent -

"Looking for Lord Lu Xun, my lady?" said the medic, without looking up from dressing the cut on my good arm. "He was called away to attend to Lord Lu Meng a few minutes ago. How are you feeling?"

I settled back on the bed, and spoke to the ceiling.

"Exhausted. Sore. Tired." I said, before wincing as a stab of pain shot up my arm. "In agony."

"Unfortunately, there's not much I can do about the pain," he said, before standing back from the bed. "I've done what I can, but you won't be able to use your arm normally again for a few months. Don't try and rush back into training, either, because you might end up damaging your arm even more."

I glanced down at my broken arm, as the medic turned away to search in a small crate behind him. My arm was swaddled in bandages, and I went to try and move it, but a sharp stab of pain shot up my arm again as soon as I moved my elbow slightly, making me wince.

"Here," said the medic, turning back to me with a large square of fabric in his hands, "You'll need to have that arm in a sling for a while, at least until we return to Jiang Dong palace."

The man helped me up into a seated position, and placed my arm in the sling, tying the knot at the back of my neck.

"Alright," he said as he pulled the knot tight, "just take it easy for the next few weeks, okay? You can go now."

"Thanks," I said, standing up rather uncertainly and holding my splinted arm to my chest.

"It's nothing, my lady," the medic smiled back at me. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must go and attend to Lord Gan Ning."

I started. Ning! How could I have forgotten him? How badly was he injured? The battle between him and Ping replayed somewhere behind my eyes - the smirking ex-pirate, the cautious Shu general - then, with no warning, all caution thrown to the wind and a sudden, all-consuming fireball - and Ning, _breathing heavily, his side bleeding profusely and burns all over his arms and torso..._

The medic must have seen my expression.

"You can come and see him, if you want. His injuries won't kill him, but they will take some time to heal fully."

I took a hesitant step forward.

"Is he awake?"

"Not yet. But, with his burns, that may be for the best."

The medic led me out of the tent and into persistent rain, before directing me into a nearby tent. I braced myself outside - I'd seen my husband unconscious, I'd seen my close friends wrapped in layers of bandages, but my best friend? The worst he's had before this was a nasty cut on his upper arm, and that hadn't even slowed him down, whereas this... was going to be something else altogether.

The flap across the front of the tent was down, but the medic pulled back the canvas and directed me inside. It took my eyes a couple of minutes to adjust to the light levels - night was starting to fall outside - but then I saw the crates, and the bed, and the still figure that lay on it. I swallowed nervously.

Ning's arms and chest were solid white with bandages, except for where it covered his side, where the blood had seeped through to the top layer from his injury. My own pain all but forgotten, I took a step further into the room. The pirate was lifeless, apart from the steady rise and fall of his chest, which was almost in time with the rain drumming down on the tent roof.

My breath caught in my throat, and I glanced around me somewhat desperately for somewhere to sit. As if on cue, the medic pulled a sturdy-looking crate to the side of the bed, and motioned me to sit down.

"You must be tired after the battle," he said, as he turned to an open crate. I didn't reply, sinking gratefully onto the makeshift seat, my eyes not leaving Ning.

God, I was a mess - the battle had left me injured and physically exhausted, but the overall strain - particularly with Ning being so badly injured - meant that I was emotionally drained as well. All I wanted to do was sleep, but even though my mind was blank, I couldn't switch off for long enough for that to happen. And, at some point before nightfall, we needed to fall back to our main camp, in case Shu decided to launch an ambush on us in retaliation. Would Ning be alright if that happened?

I must have managed to doze off, though, because my head suddenly jerked up as the medic gently laid his hand on my shoulder. The movement made me jolt my broken arm slightly, and I sucked in air as the pain shot up my arm, almost to my shoulder.

"Are you okay, my lady?" asked the medic, looking concerned. I opened my mouth to reply - and was cut off by a slight groan from Ning. I shot up and, closely followed by the medic, went over to Ning's bedside.

"Ning? Ning, can you hear me?" I asked, feeling rather off-balance after being sat so long, and with having my arm in the sling. There was another groan from the pirate - it could have been acknowledgement or further awareness, I couldn't tell. It may also have been from the inevitable pain from his injuries -

He suddenly gave a much louder groan, screwing his face up in pain. Obviously, he'd just reached that annoying stage that I knew only too well from previous battles - awake enough for the pain to kick in, but not that movement or thought came easily. Even so, I grinned into the candle-lit darkness.

On the bed below us, Ning finally opened his eyes, and squinted up at the ceiling.

"I don't know," I said, teasingly, "I let you have one general to have fun with, and you get yourself into this state."

Ning grunted and looked up at me from his position on the bed.

"You don't look any better," he said, and I could see his eyes fix on my sling. "Who did that to you? Guan Yu?"

I glanced down at my arm, and received a stab of pain for my troubles.

"Yeah. I don't advise breaking your arm, by the way - far too much bother."

"Yeah? I could say the same about charging head-first into a fire attack. Are we still at the temporary camp?"

"Yes, my lord," said the medic from behind me. "We are about to finish preparations to move back to the main camp now. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better."

The medic started fussing around Ning and rummaging through various crates, and I fell back slightly, to keep out of the way. I could tell that Ning was in considerable pain - he was doing his best to hide it, but it was slipping through in how he spoke; he was being a lot more sarcastic and slightly snappier than his usual happy-go-lucky self.

What the hell Tong would say when he saw us was anyone's guess.

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"I wish you'd told me you were going to face Guan Yu head on," Tong said, running an agitated hand through his hair.

"I know, and I honestly would have, but I knew you would just be worried about me. And then I'd be distracted by knowing that, and I might not have escaped with just a broken arm." I said, holding one of my dismayed husband's hands in mine (my other still being in the sling), and looking him in the eyes.

We had arrived back only a couple of hours ago, and both Shang Xiang and Tong had been unpleasantly shocked to see us both so injured. Ning had been spirited away to his own room - he was still bedridden, and all the more irate for it - and Shang Xiang had immediately gone to see how he was, leaving me and Tong alone together. I had seen in his eyes just how concerned he was for me - and that had been before I'd taken off my sling. His face just seemed to fall further still as I explained how I had gotten into my current state.

I'd felt dreadful as I'd watched his expression change - my stomach felt like a clenched fist, and I tried desperately not to wince when my arm shot a stab of pain up through my elbow.

"I'm really, _really_ sorry, Tong. I just didn't want you to worry..."

My eyes dropped from his face - I couldn't bear to see him look so... so utterly dismayed. Perhaps it was because of the pain from my arm, or maybe it was the concern over my best friend, but, added to this situation, I could feel the tears start to prickle in the corners of my eyes. Tong, seemingly noticing that I was on the verge of tears, gently squeezed my hand, laying his spare hand on my shoulder reassuringly.

"Hey, come on now," he said gently. "I'm not exactly happy that you didn't tell me, but I know you were only thinking about me. And I know _I_ would probably have done the same thing if it were me."

He paused momentarily, apparently studying my hunched figure carefully.

"...You're worried about Ning, aren't you?"

I nodded silently, trying to hold back my tears.

"He'll pull through, you know that -"

"How can you be so sure?" I suddenly burst out. Tong looked rather taken aback, and I could see people looking up to see what the commotion was about, but I continued regardless. "He's in real pain! The medic says the burns could still get infected, and he's got to heal from the cut in his side! You don't know he'll get better!"

"Su-"

"No! I - I have to go..."

I turned away from my stunned husband, and started to run. I didn't know where to - I just needed to go and clear my head enough that I could think straight. Tong called after me ineffectually a couple of times, but I couldn't tell if he had made any move to follow me.

God, why was this happening now?

* * *

**A/N: **If there are typos, then bear in mind I had the attention span of a hyper puppy when I was typing this up. I know, that's not really an excuse, but I just want to post something so you guys have something to say that I haven't forgotten about this story. I mean it when I say I will get to the end of this story!


	25. The Demon of War

**AN:** Hey guys, guess who's back after god knows how long? Well, that promise I keep making about finishing this isn't idle - I know the plot, it's just getting my head down and actually writing this up that's holding me back. Enough chatter, though: Here's the next chapter, which was written a long time ago, and which contains a bit more than a passing nod to a friend of mine on here - I should have put this up earlier, I know.

**Disclaimer: **Aaah, you know this by now. Honestly, take the characters. Take the plot! I only ask for a mention if you take an original concept directly from this story. Oh, and the character which gets introduced in this chapter belongs to thebladeofchaos.

* * *

It seemed like that last battle had forced an uneasy peace upon the land - with the loss of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Shu had lost a huge chunk of the power under their command, and Wei seemed to be taking their time recovering as well. But it was a very watchful time. Everyone knew that, when the peace ended, it would end with a bang.

My arm healed surprisingly quickly - after just 3 months, I was told I could resume weapons practice, and I threw myself into it, spending at least 3 hours a day at the training dummies. I knew that my friends were getting concerned about me - I wasn't really acting like myself at all - but I couldn't help it. I had to become stronger. _I had to show this uneasy feeling from the last battle that I could protect everyone._

This feeling of anxiety wasn't helped by the fact that Ning wasn't doing so well in his recovery. While the cut in his side seemed to be healing nicely, his burns refused to heal, and he suffered from a series of infections before they finally showed any signs of getting better. It was a frustrating time for everyone involved.

A few weeks before Ning was allowed back to weapons training found me hacking away at the dummies in an indoor arena as usual. It was still fairly early, so I was the only one there, until -

"Back at the training dummies again, Lady Su?"

I straightened up from my last assault on the dummy, and turned to see a large, well-muscled man, dressed predominantly in dark clothing and with a long piece of hair covering his right eye, smirking at me from the doorway.

"Come on, Fu, you should know by now that I'm no lady," I replied, turning back to my dummy and getting ready for another sequence of moves. Behind me, Fu Xi chuckled and walked further into the room.

Fu Xi - named after the God of War (the real one, not Guan Yu) and with a greatsword to match, was a strange character. On the battlefield, he wore jet black armour with a black cape and fingerless gauntlets. Off the battlefield, he tended more toward the dark red, but he kept his fingerless gauntlets on him at all times. I also knew that, as well as the greatsword, he was proficient with a whole range of other weapons, including a crossbow and a customised spear-harpoon, which attached to a chain on one of his gauntlets when he was fighting.

He must have been fearsome on the battlefield, because before joining Wu shortly after the battle of Fan Castle, he had already earned the nickname of 'the Demon of War'. Well, Wu already had the Angel of Death - I guess gaining a demon only made sense.

"Every time I see you, you seem to be training hard," he said, standing a short distance behind the dummy and stretching. I slashed the dummy diagonally across the chest, before using the momentum of my swing to launch into a butterfly kick.

"These days, if you don't train hard, you're dead... and so are the people you care for." I said softly - but not enough that Fu didn't catch it.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? You still paranoid about Fan Castle?"

I stabbed the dummy in the chest with my left blade hard - and felt a twinge of pain shoot up my arm. I dropped back, wincing slightly and glaring at the inert dummy as though it had done that on purpose.

"Your arm's never going to fully heal unless you stop training so hard," said Fu.

"It's healed enough," I snapped at him, absently rubbing my arm with my free hand. Fu said nothing, but I saw the look he gave me. "Oh, shut up."

I half-removed my left blade to check on my arm - I needn't have bothered, it wasn't as though I'd broken the skin - but was that a bruise on my forearm, marking the spot where the handle of Guan Yu's halberd had so violently connected with my arm? I let out a frustrated sigh -

"Alright then, how about this - all the training in the world won't do you any good if you don't fight other people every now and then. So how about we have a duel, and if I win you back off the training and, I dunno, spend some time with Tong or Ning."

I looked up at Fu to find him fiddling idly with one of his gauntlets, and as he looked back up at me, I pulled my blade firmly back on and straightened up.

"And if you lose?" I asked, interested despite myself. Fu shrugged.

"If I lose then you can do whatever the hell you want. I have no right to stop you."

"...Alright, then. One duel."

"Outside?"

I glanced around us. Spacious though the room was, I knew how easily fixtures got broken.

"Yeah."

"Meet you at the duelling arena in 10 minutes, then. I need to sort a couple of things in here."

Fu headed for one of the storerooms, leaving me to straighten up my clothing and head for the exit. I'd seen him in duels with other officers before - he looked quite the tough opponent at first, but once you got your eye in, you could see that his attacks largely relied on brute force and his somewhat impressive strength. How would he fare against my quick attacks?

Not only that, but I felt that there was more to Fu than he was letting on. He'd turned up out of nowhere - like me, almost - and had worked hard to secure his reputation before joining our ranks. But he seemed to know a lot about me... Well, I know I wasn't exactly _unheard of_ across the land and the various factions, but even so, it was unusual for someone fairly new to know me as well as Fu did.

I blinked, realising I'd just walked right past the turning that would take me outside, and hastily retraced my steps, shaking my head slightly. Enough daydreaming - I had a duel to prepare for. Ahead of me, I could see a small group of people scurrying in the direction of the sparring arena. Was someone else already there? No matter, we could wait if we needed to.

My arm gave a twinge as the arena came into sight, and I glanced down at it in annoyance. This was the worst it had been in a while - maybe I should back off the training for a while regardless of the outcome of the duel... _but then how would I become strong enough to protect the people I care for? _The sound of footsteps brought me back toreality, and I turned to see who it was.

"Ah, there you are," said Fu, running to catch up as I turned back to the arena. "You ready?"

I nodded, although I was somewhat distracted by my internal conflict. Now we were near the arena, I could see a small crowd milling around outside. It looked like a couple of majors had come out for an early sparring session, but I could see heads turning as we approached, and people nudging each other and getting out of our way. How had word of our duel reached the arena before we had? Honestly, the walls in the palace must be made of ears. I could understand the excitement that was bubbling up as we walked toward the entrance to the arena, though - duels always got an audience, but not many had seen Fu Xi in action, and I had something of a history of winning duels. It would be interesting to see how this one turned out.

Finally reaching our positions on the arena floor, Fu and I turned to face each other. I flicked my blades out, and saw Fu raise an eyebrow.

"Real weapons?" he asked, looking slightly perturbed. I glanced down at my blades. I knew better than anyone what damage they could do...

"Do you have a wooden replica yet?" I asked the black-clad man. Without answering, Fu turned away, exiting the arena to take a wooden broadsword from the weapons rack by the entrance. I flicked my blades back in, before slipping them off and placing them by the entrance, where they would hopefully be out of the way. As Fu took up his position again, I pulled my Clackers from around my neck.

He raised another eyebrow at my weapon choice, but said nothing.

"No kill-shots. We go for the takedown, and whoever gets it wins. Deal?" I asked, holding his gaze evenly.

"Deal."

"Then let's get this over with."

We began circling each other, my Clackers in my left hand and a gentle ache radiating through my arm. Maybe I should have started with my other hand, but I was so used to holding them left-handed that by the time this occurred to me, it was a bit too late to change it.

Fu made the first move, darting forward and swinging at me, but I jinxed out of the way at the last minute and swung my Clackers in his direction. He somehow managed to twist around in time to block them with his sword, before backing off and resuming the circling.

"Quite a crowd we've gathered."

I didn't drop my guard, but I could see - and hear - the crowd out the corner of my eye.

"Are you surprised?" I asked.

"Heh, not really. Duels always get an audience," he said with a small chuckle, before nodding at something behind me. "Here comes your husband. Oh, and Ning seems to be with him."

I didn't turn, but my stance must have shifted slightly because Fu suddenly laughed, before launching himself at me. I dodged again, but this time Fu brought his sword around, forcing me to clumsily dodge again. However, as I fell back, I brought my foot up and attempted to knock him off balance with a side kick. It didn't work, and as my momentum forced me backwards, I managed to perform an awkward handspring, landing on my feet just in time to deflect another attack from Fu.

There was no rest this time, as Fu pressed the attack by bringing his elbow back in a vain attempt to get me. I easily blocked it with a backfist, before launching into a series of attacks of my own. Fu was forced to block as I hit him with a series of front kicks, side kicks, and even the occasional jump kick, but when I judged him to be far enough back, I leapt into the air, performed a backflip, and flung my Clackers at the ground. The shockwaves caught Fu off guard, and I heard the crowd gasp as I landed somewhat heavily on my feet, my arm already stretching out to grab my Clackers again.

A sharp stab of pain shot up my arm from the impact, but I ignored it, quickly snatching up my Clackers and straightening up just in time to meet Fu coming at me with a strong overhead attack. I gripped my Clackers by their ends, holding the connection taut as I forced them up -

- But the impact of his attack on my weapon made my arm buckle as a large stab of pain speared up my arm, and I saw Fu's expression change as his attack made contact -

I awoke to see Tong kneeling over me, looking rather concerned. Ning was just behind him, and I could see a number of other people milling around the arena. I went to sit up -

"Woah, Su, stay still!" said Tong, gently pressing me back down. "You took quite a bad hit there. How are you feeling?"

I winced as a wave of pain speared through my head, and my legs seemed to go weak. Maybe it was a good idea to keep lying down...

"You know, I've felt better." I muttered, blinking as stars shot across my vision. "What a time for my arm to give out..."

"Hey, Su! You've woken up?" came the voice of Fu.

I tried to turn my head, but a sudden stab of pain shot through my head again. I groaned, and moved my arm to cover my eyes.

"I'm starting to wish I hadn't..."

"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened back there! I didn't mean to hurt you -"

"I know, I know... Don't worry about it," I said, somewhat indistinctly. "Looks like you won, anyway... oh, god, my _head..._"

"A medic's coming, Su," said Ning from somewhere above me. "Should be here soon."

"Oh, good," I said faintly. As well as the pain in my head, I could feel my arm throbbing, and a nasty pool of nausea forming in my stomach. I must have gone pale at this point, because I heard Tong gasp slightly.

"Su? You sure you're okay?"

"No..." I mumbled, before my stomach suddenly heaved, and I was forced to roll onto my side as I gagged. I was vaguely aware of people around me gasping, before a voice to my right informed everyone that the medic had arrived. I felt hands gently rolling me onto my back again, and a strange, blurred face suddenly appeared in front of me...

It was nearly dark by the time I woke up again. I was feeling uncomfortably groggy, and my forehead was strangely cold. Slowly, I brought an arm up to my face, and felt my fingertips brush against a piece of fabric. Was that a damp bit of cloth, or bandages?

I let my hand fall and tried to open my eyes. There wasn't much light to see with, which suited me just fine for the moment, but it was enough to see that there was no-one else in the room.

A few minutes passed as I tried to get my bearings again, during which a nasty headache grew, and the residual ache in my left arm returned. Well, I'd very definitely lost that duel. That meant I had to honour my promise to Fu - to rest up for a while until my arm got better... and to spend more time with Tong and Ning.

The door opened quietly as I was pondering this and a medic entered, holding a few candles, which he proceeded to place around the room. As he turned in my direction, I vaguely recognised him as the medic who'd treated my arm back at Fan Castle. Was he going to tell me off for not resting my arm enough?

"Oh, you've woken up at last?" said the medic, walking over to the bed after placing the last candle. "Lord Ling Tong was getting rather worried - although, so were Lords Fu Xi and Gan Ning. How are you feeling?"

"Sore. Tired. A bit groggy. Where is everyone?"

"I believe Lords Ling Tong and Fu Xi were summoned to Lord Sun Quan about this incident," said the medic as he checked my eyes and temperature. "Lord Gan Ning is having his injuries redressed. You seem to be doing alright now, but I want you to take it easy for the next couple of weeks. That means no training, and absolutely no duelling! If you have any problems, then just come straight back to me -"

"Su! Are you alright?"

I winced as the door was flung open and slammed into the wall, but then Shang Xiang came into my view, looking concerned.

"I think so, but my head doesn't half hurt..." I said, bringing my arm up to rest on my forehead.

"I'm not surprised! It sounded like you really got a nasty hit off Fu!"

"Huh? Were you there? I didn't see you..."

"No, but I went to talk to Quan and overheard his conversation with Fu and Tong. What were you doing, duelling before your arm fully healed?"

"It was healed enough," I responded, but I couldn't bring myself to look at her while I said it.

"Well it clearly wasn't, or you'd have blocked Fu's attack!" said Shang Xiang, before sighing. "Between you and Ning, I've had enough worry over injuries. And this war isn't even over yet!"

This time it was my turn to sigh.

"Sorry, Shang Xiang. Look, I promised Fu that if he won, I'd back off the training and spend more time with you lot," I said quietly, before laughing. "In all honesty, I could really use this break. I shouldn't have started training so hard so soon after being given the all clear, especially not for how bad my arm was. But I feel like, if I don't train, then I'll never be strong enough."

"What are you on about, Su? You're already one of our best officers, and you know it! And, besides -"

"Su! You're awake!"

Shang Xiang was cut off mid-sentence as my husband entered the room, and she moved back to give him some space. I smiled weakly - my headache wasn't getting any better, but I was glad to see Tong right now.

"Hey," I said as he neared my bed. "Sorry if I had you worried there."

"What sort of husband would I be if I hadn't been worried?" he replied, a relieved smile playing around his lips. "You were out like a candle after that hit!"

"What actually happened?" I asked suddenly. "I can sort of remember doing a shockwave attack, but the whole fight's just... fuzzy..."

"I can answer that." came a voice from the doorway, before Tong turned and I saw Fu, hovering anxiously behind everyone. Tong fell back as Fu became the centre of attention, and the black-clad man swallowed nervously.

"Well... it was a pretty standard fight, to be honest, until your backflip attack. I came back in for another attack after you landed, and you went to block it, but your arm just gave way and I got you. There was this awful noise when my sword hit you, and you just went down... Next thing I know, someone's called for a medic and Tong's on the arena floor, trying to get you to wake up. Then all hell broke loose."

I screwed up my face in concentration as I tried to match his words to the fragments my mind was supplying me, but it seemed like the harder I tried, the more confusing everything got.

"I... I think I remember my arm hurting... ugh, my memory just feels so messed up..."

"As long as it's only your memory, then I'm happy," said the medic. "This sort of injury can cause all sorts of problems, and you're probably going to be wobbly for a week or so, but it looks like you should recover fully from this."

I nodded slightly, before I was hit by a sudden overwhelming urge to yawn. My head gave a warning stab of pain as I tried to stifle it, but I ignored it.

"Oh, sorry, everyone... What time is it?" I asked as my yawn ended.

"The sun's been down a couple of hours already," said Shang Xiang, glancing out the window.

"But wasn't the duel only a few hours after sunrise?" I asked, suddenly confused.

"Yeah," said Tong, nodding. "You've been out of it for at least 11 hours."

I blinked. Eleven hours was a very long time to be unconscious for. No wonder everyone seemed so relieved.

"Okay," I said, staring up at the ceiling as I tried to digest this, "remind me how bad that hit was again?"

"Bad. It was... bad."

I sighed to myself. It had been a long day - and I'd been unconscious for most of it - but I was having some difficulty in getting my head around exactly what had happened to me. Maybe it would be clearer tomorrow...

* * *

**AN:** Hey, did you guess the totally subtle and totally-not-a-permanent-story-addition wink to a friend? It's taken me far too long to get this up here, but hopefully I managed to keep Fu pretty much in character - check out thebladeofchaos' story 'Friends in Warfare' if you want to see how wrong I got it! Hopefully it won't take me nearly as long to get the next chapter up. Hell, DW7 is out, and this is based on 5 - that should date it a bit! R&R if you want to, and I'll see you in the next chapter!


	26. Harbingers of Change

**AN:** Guess who wasn't lying when they said they actually were back and going to update regularly? Writing ahead is going a lot slower than it did before my extended hiatus, but it's getting there - it seems choppy when I'm writing but then it always seems to come together alright when I re-read it. Anyway, I'm far enough ahead that I can type up chapter 26, so here you go!

**Disclaimer**: Everyone belongs to the people they belong to.

* * *

A few days after my accident, Lu Meng, Lu Xun, and a handful of other soldiers and officers set off on a training exercise up in the mountains. I was supposed to have gone with them, but my injury had forced me to stay behind, and so it was that I heard the news over dinner, a few hours after a messenger had arrived for Sun Quan: Lu Meng had collapsed from an illness he had been hiding from everyone. Lu Xun quickly assumed control, much to everyone's relief, and had called off the training so they could get Lu Meng back to the palace.

The rest of dinner had passed in a dejected hush, and it wasn't long before I left the hall, heading outside with Tong, Ning and Shang Xiang in tow. Quan hadn't said so directly, but everyone had seen it from his stance - Lu Meng was seriously ill, and with it being so soon after Fan Castle...

"Poor Xun!" exclaimed Shang Xiang as we wandered through the palace grounds. "I would hate to be in his shoes now..."

"I would hate to be in Meng's more..." I said, shivering slightly. Even though it had been a week since the duel, I still wasn't back to my usual self. I was only glad that Tong had his arm around me as we walked.

"Oh, don't, Su! This is serious!" Shang Xiang snapped at me. I sighed, and went to apologise -

"Hey, there you are!"

I closed my mouth again, and turned to see Fu Xi bearing down on us. During the last week, he seemed to have insinuated himself into our friendship group. I didn't mind - even for the fact he beat me in the duel, there just seemed to be something about him I could relate to. Maybe it was the whole nickname thing?

"Hey, Fu, what's up?" said Ning from beside me. You could tell that his injuries and subsequent illness had really taken their toll, but Ning was nothing if not a fighter, and his usual impish sparkle never left his expression for long.

"All this about Lu Meng! Isn't he Wu's commander?"

"Yeah," I said glumly.

"But, if he dies -"

"Ugh, this is stupid!" burst out Shang Xiang suddenly. "I'm going to go talk to Quan!"

We watched her go in silence - what could we have said that would have changed anything? As she left our sight, I gave a short sigh.

"First Zhou Yu, gods rest his soul, and now Lu Meng..." I said quietly.

"If... if he doesn't pull through, who's next in line to be commander?" asked Fu despondently.

"I guess Lu Xun," said Tong.

"Man, this is probably the last thing he wanted right now..." I said, running a hand through my hair.

"Yeah..." said Ning.

Everyone fell silent, avoiding each other's gaze. We all knew what this would mean. I just hoped that Xun would hold out alright...

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

Lu Meng passed on before he could see the Wu Palace one last time. The whole palace seemed to be cast into a great depression - after all, there had been news of suspicious activity from the Shu border lately. How would we defend ourselves if they decided to avenge Guan Yu with no commander?

The funeral ceremony was a particularly sombre affair. I stood next to Tong, slightly closer to the royal family than Ning, who stood opposite us. As the procession passed, amidst the sound of fireworks to ward off evil spirits, I glanced further up the procession path to where Lu Xun was stood. I hadn't had chance to talk to him since his return, but his expression... It looked like a mixture of grief, frustration, and determination.

At the meal afterwards, it felt like I had no chance at all to talk to the young strategist. Every time I looked in his direction, he seemed to be deep in conversation with someone - usually Sun Quan. As the meal drew to a finish, I glanced up again - to see Xun's seat empty.

"You're awfully shifty today," said Tong as we walked back to our room.

"I can't help it," I said, avoiding his gaze and twisting the hem of my shirt around my finger distractedly. "I just want to make sure Xun's alright, but now he's taking over as commander..."

Tong wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed them gently.

"I know. Lu Meng was almost like a father to Xun. That's not something you can get over quickly..."

I turned to look up at Tong as we carried on walking. He almost never mentioned his father these days, especially with his relationship with me and Ning as it was. The corridor was dark - the servants had not yet done the evening candle rounds - but I could still just make out his expression.

My eyes fell back to the floor.

"...I'm sorry about your father."

"Don't be. I know it wasn't your fault and I'm sure he knew the risks of battle." he said, looking straight ahead. When I didn't respond, he glanced down at me and sighed again.

"Look, I knew my father well. He could handle himself on the battlefield, but he knew that your enemy could become your ally. He wasn't the type to hold a grudge about something like that... and it took me a while to realise it for myself, but he was right. You kill the enemy and protect your allies."

I giggled slightly.

"I'm sure Ning told you that."

"Yeah, but don't go telling him he was right. The man has a big enough ego as it is."

I smiled to myself, and pulled Tong closer.

"Your secret's safe with me."

We walked on in silence, until the corridor met with the end of another. Glancing down it, I saw a patch of light, and hesitated.

"Hm? What's up?"

"There's light from Xun's room..."

"...Go on. I'll see you back in our room."

I turned to look up at Tong, before nodding and setting off. I didn't really know what I was going to say to Xun, but then, I didn't know what to expect. In all the time I'd known Xun, nothing this devastating had happened to him. How was he taking this unfortunate turn of events?

I slowed as I reached his doorway, cautiously poking my head around the door frame. The source of the light was soon obvious - a lone candle on a metal holder flickered on the corner of Xun's desk. Xun himself was sat next to a piece of paper with a few scribbled words on it, a caligraphy brush held loosely in his hand, his eyes on the flickering flame. Glancing at the brush, it looked dry, as though it had been sat there for several minutes. I blinked. Brush in hand, it looked like Xun had been sat, staring through the flame and into his own space, for a while.

I moved further into the door frame. Xun didn't seem to have noticed me, so I quietly cleared my throat. He started, glancing around his half-lit room absently before his eyes came to rest on me.

"Hm? Oh... hey, Su."

I hesitated. There was something about his tone...

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"Oh, no - well... I don't know. The last few days have been so manic, I guess I thought you might have been another summons to attend to Sun Quan..." he said, before sighing and looking down on the paper on his desk.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you're holding up okay. I mean, I know you were close to Meng, gods rest his soul, and being promoted to commander so quickly..."

Xun was silent. I took a small step further into his room as he slowly put the caligraphy brush down.

"It's... I think I'm okay. I don't get chance to think about it much with all this work..." he said quietly. I frowned at his back as he continued to stare at the piece of paper. Somehow, I knew he was lying, but I didn't want to push it any further right now.

"...Don't bottle it up, okay? You may be our new commander, but that doesn't mean you aren't still our friend. If... if you need to talk about anything, I'm here." My gaze dropped to the floor as I quietly continued. "I don't want to see anyone go through what I went through..."

Silence descended again, as brief images of dark forests and the palace rooftop flashed in front of my mind's eye.

"...Thanks, Su. I just... think I need time to adjust, still. But I will bear that in mind."

I looked up to see Xun watching me, a small smile on his face. I returned it in kind, before half turning back towards the dark corridor.

"I'm going to get back to Tong now. But if you need me for anything..."

"Thanks."

Back out in the corridor, I hesitated. I didn't really feel like going back to my husband yet... If anything, I just needed somewhere quiet and out of the way to be alone with my thoughts. There was just too much on my mind at the minute, especially after my talk with Xun. Setting off at a wander, I didn't really have any destination in mind, but it wasn't much of a surprise when I looked up to find myself approaching my favourite palace garden. Glancing around, I didn't see anyone else, so I gave a small sigh and went to sit on one of the stone benches -

"Oh, hey Su. What are you doing out here?"

I jumped. Out of seemingly nowhere, a face had appeared, before the owner stood up and moved closer to the scant light of a nearby lantern.

"Oh - oh, sorry Fu. I didn't see you there..."

"I have a habit of sneaking up on people like that," said Fu, smiling. "Wearing dark clothes all the time just seems to help me blend with the shadows."

"Hm."

Fu put a hand on his hip, and frowned at my hunched shoulders and glum expression.

"What's got you so down? Normally you have so much energy."

I shrugged helplessly. Normally I would have excused myself and gone to be on my own, but I felt like Fu needed a reason.

"It's just this whole Lu Meng thing. I'm worried that Xun might try to bottle things up, especially now that he's busy with being the commander. I've had... bad experiences with keeping things bottled up."

"Huh? Like what?"

I grimaced slightly. That particular memory was hard enough to bring up with Tong, Ning, and Shang Xiang - Fu was a great guy and all, but I really wasn't ready to let him know _that_ yet.

"...Do you mind if we don't go into that? It's... a difficult memory."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable..." said Fu, raising his hands apologetically.

"It's okay," I said with a small smile. "I might tell you one day..."

"Alright. I won't push you for it." said Fu, before looking around at the stars above us. "In any case, I think I might head in now. It'll be getting cold soon..." He took a few steps back in the direction of the palace before pausing. "Hey, about the funeral today... Was he a good commander?"

I didn't answer straight away, because the question caught me off guard. I knew Fu had only been here a few months, but how could you sum up the life and decisions of our late commander so easily?

"...To be honest, I've never thought about it in terms of 'good' or 'bad', but yeah, I guess. His strategies made sense and worked, unless the enemy did something we didn't expect, and even then he could still turn the situation to our advantage. He was a decent fighter to boot... I suppose that if I had thought anything he did or said was wrong or bad, then I'd have started thinking about the other things he did in those terms..." I didn't look at Fu as I spoke, instead staring up at the start twinkling above me.

"If something works, you don't stop to think about it. You just assume it'll carry on working..." There was silence between us for a minute, before Fu sighed. "Thanks, Su."

X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X()X

It had been quiet on all sides since the battle at Fan Castle, with little to no signs of conflict being reported from either border, and so I'd gradually come to ignore the paranoia which had plagued me since then. In particular, my forced break from training after the duel had made me face both my friends and myself, and I was somewhat grateful for it.

It took several more weeks for my arm to fully heal, and it still ached when I trained for too long, or during particularly cold spells. It frustrated me for a long time, but all I could do was learn to accept it and work around it - this being accomplished with the support of my friends. However, it was a simple idea of my own which helped me get back to full strength faster, an idea which Master Ba helped to bring to reality.

Upon explaining the difficulties of using my left blade during training, he was quick to suggest an improvement to the gauntlet itself, which I greatly appreciated. It took a few days for my weapons to be upgraded, but the result was simply amazing. The gauntlets on both my weapons had another layer of soft cloth sewn into the insides, but my left one had also been subtly altered to provide a better fit and some additional support. Master Ba had also seen fit to replace he actual blades on my weapons, which were notched and rather battered, with fresh blades, upon which wings had been etched - the left wing on my left blade, placed so that it sat over my fist when extended, and the right occupying the same position on the other. The result, as ever with Master Ba, was stunning, and I was glad I'd gone to him for advice.

Life had finally returned to a comfortable routine. I'd wake up, have breakfast, get in an hour or so of training, and then spend the rest of the day hanging out with my friends and husband. And yet, this glimpse of peace could not last.

The news came early in the year of 222. During dinner, a breathless messenger had burst into the mess hall and made a beeline for Sun Quan. After a minute of hushed conversation, Quan had excused himself, and motioned for Lu Xun to follow. The rest of the meal had proceeded amongst hushed whispers of what the intrusion could have meant.

We found out the following morning, at breakfast. I was sat with the usual crowd - Shang Xiang, Tong, Ning and Fu - near the front of the hall, and we were maybe halfway through our meal when Sun Quan stood up, immediately commanding the attention of everyone on the room.

"As I'm sure some of you are aware, yesterday we received a message from one of our border camps on the Shu border. There have been... worrying signs of activity from the Shu border that cannot go unchecked. Therefore, I want all generals who are free for the next month to report to the War Room in half an hour. Thank you."

As he sat down again, I turned to my friends.

"So what do you think he's not telling us?"

"Something big..." said Shang Xiang, frowning in the direction of her brother. "He and Xun were up discussing something all night. When I asked him what it was this morning, he just said I'd find out after breakfast."

"That said, don't you have border duty soon, Su?" said Tong, turning to face me.

"Yeah, somewhere on the Shu border..." I said, a confused look crossing my face. "Looks like my stint might be more eventful than I was expecting."

"Uh, Su?" came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Lu Xun, a serious expression on his face.

"Huh?"

"I know you have guard duty next week, but you should come to the meeting as well. You... you'll understand when you get there."

"Oh... Okay, I guess."

We didn't talk much after that, until the time came to head to the War Room. I was feeling oddly on edge - it wasn't like Quan to not give us the whole story, and I wasn't sure why I'd been told to come along. This was more than just a few attacks on a border camp...

There were a handful of other officers milling around when we arrived, and we spread out along one of the walls, chatting amongst ourselves and occasionally glancing at the doors at the other end of the hall. We'd only been there a few minutes before Sun Quan arrived, followed by Lu Xun. Everyone stood to attention, and a quick glance around everyone revealed that they were all just as in the dark about the reason behind this meeting as we were.

"Thank you all for being so prompt," said Quan as he reached the head of the table. "You may be wondering why I called you all here over a border dispute. The truth is we've had reports of suspicious activity from Shu for a while now. Their movements have been unknown to us for a few weeks - until I received a message yesterday informing me that the border camp near the Shu village of Yi Ling had been attacked by a band of Shu warriors." He paused for a moment, giving us a dark look which seemed to linger slightly when he met my eyes. "There were no survivors."

A wave of shock rippled around the room, and I felt Shang Xiang nudge me as I stared at Quan in disbelief. I'd forgotten the name of the border camp village I'd been assigned to while we were in the mess hall, but there was no mistaking it - had the attack been a week later, then I might have become one of the casualties reported to Quan. But just who had attacked the camp? A massacre on this scale was far beyond the work of a few petulant peasants - it was practically unheard of!

"I know Shu are hardly happy about our involvement at Fan Castle, but I wouldn't expect them to attack like this," muttered Ning from beside me, arms crossed.

"It's possible that Liu Bei didn't know about this attack until after it happened," agreed Lu Xun, "but the intent remains the same. We are interpreting this as an act of war, which will most likely take place at Yi Ling itself." Producing a map, he spread it out on the table, and we all gathered around it as he started explaining a few potential strategies.

The discussion carried on for a couple of hours with no real conclusion being reached. Eventually, Sun Quan called it to a halt and dismissed us all. As people started leaving, I turned to my friends quickly, my eyes on Xun as he started to gather up the map.

"I'll meet you guys out there, I want to have a quick word with Xun..."

I set off for Xun before they could really reply, a nasty suspicion lurking in the back of my mind. It had been bugging me throughout the meeting - I was sure the attack on the base carried more purpose than just a call to arms. Why that base at that time? I could only think of one explanation...

"Hey, Xun?" I said as I drew near him, and saw him glance up at me. "You know the group who attacked the border camp? Do you have any information about who did it?"

Xun seemed to think for a minute before responding.

"The messenger couldn't give us a name because dusk was falling when they struck, but he did notice one of the attackers wielding a spear with black feathers..."

My stomach clenched.

"Liao Hua."

"Who?"

"He led the attack. I'm sure of it." My hands reflexively curled into fists as an image of the man's smirking face crossed over my mind.

"What do you know about him?" asked Xun, his brow furrowing on concentration as he turned his full attention to me. I could see Quan listening in behind Xun, and forced myself to calm down a bit.

"I encountered him at Fan Castle. He's - how do I put this? - A nasty piece of work doesn't even begin to cover it. I got the feeling he's smarter than he lets on, and he'll try to take advantage of any weakness he sees. Honestly, I'm surprised Liu Bei lets him stay with Shu - he's hardly the type to give a damn about virtue or the people. If he's involved..." I trailed off, a look of disgust crossing my face.

"I think I get the picture. If Liao Hua was at Fan Castle, then it sounds likely he will be involved in this next battle as well..." Xun half-turned from me, deep in thought. "Alright. I'm going to go work on the plan."

I watched as he left the room, before sighing and leaving myself, intending to catch up with my friends. I was guessing they'd be outside - despite the worrying news we'd just received, it was a warm day, and it seemed a shame to spend the day cooped up inside. I couldn't help but feel uneasy, though - I didn't know what this battle would bring with it, but I was almost certain it wouldn't be pleasant.

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**AN:** Phew, seems like another long chapter - or at least it does when you type it up in one sitting! Reviews are appreciated, and I'll hopefully get the next chapter up within the next month. Ciao!


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